Economic analysis of a community-based falls prevention program

Beard, J., Rowell, D., Scott, D., van Beurden, E., Barnett, L., Hughes, K. and Newman, B. (2006) Economic analysis of a community-based falls prevention program. Public Health, 120 8: 742-751.


Author Beard, J.
Rowell, D.
Scott, D.
van Beurden, E.
Barnett, L.
Hughes, K.
Newman, B.
Title Economic analysis of a community-based falls prevention program
Journal name Public Health  (ERA 2012 Listed)    (ERA 2010 Rank C)   Check publisher's open access policy
Publication date 2006-08
Sub-type Article
DOI 10.1016/j.puhe.2006.04.011
Volume number 120
Issue number 8
ISSN 0033-3506
1476-5616
Start page 742
End page 751
Total pages 10
Place of publication London, United Kingdom
Publisher Elsevier
Language eng
Subject 11 Medical and Health Sciences
1117 Public Health and Health Services
Formatted abstract Objectives
To undertake a cost–benefit analysis of ‘Stay on Your Feet’, a community-based falls prevention program targeting older people at all levels of risk in New South Wales, Australia. Hospital separations were monitored in the intervention region, a control region and for the state of New South Wales as a whole. Changing admission patterns over the intervention period were used to assess the impact of the program.

Methods
Cost–benefit analysis compared the costs of the program with two estimates of savings from avoided hospital admissions. The first compared the cost of hospital admissions in the intervention region to a control region of similar demographics, while the second compared hospital utilization in the intervention region with the state of New South Wales as a whole using falls-related hospital diagnosis related group (DRG) codes.

Results
The total direct costs of the program were estimated at A$781 829. Both methods identified clear overall net benefits ranging from A$5.4 million for avoided hospitalizations alone to A$16.9 million for all avoided direct and indirect costs. The confidence intervals around these estimates were small. The average overall benefit to cost ratio for the intervention as a whole was 20.6:1.

Conclusions
These findings suggest that well-designed community-based interventions targeting falls prevention among older people are highly cost effective and a wise investment for all levels of government. The models used are conservative and are likely to underestimate the real benefit of the intervention, which may have lasted for some time beyond the life of the program. Copyright © 2006 The Royal Institute of Public Health Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keyword Falls prevention
Cost–benefit analysis
Diagnosis-related groups
Net present value
Health promotion
Q-Index Code C1

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article
Collections: Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) - Collection
School of Nursing and Midwifery Publications
 
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Created: Fri, 08 Jan 2010, 14:50:39 EST by Tara Johnson on behalf of Faculty Of Health Sciences