A cost-effectiveness analysis of a health education programme for elderly persons with age-related macular degeneration: A longitudinal study

PURPOSE: To analyse the cost-effectiveness of the activity-based Health Education Programme 'Discovering New Ways' versus a standard Individual Programme. METHOD: Two-hundred and twenty-nine persons were randomized to either the Health Education Programme or an Individual Programme. The present study is based on 131 persons who participated in the 28-month follow-up. Costs for the low vision clinic were documented prospectively along with external costs. A cost-effectiveness analysis was done using cases with an improved level of perceived security in daily activities as the effectiveness measure. RESULTS: The Health Education Programme led to significantly more cases with an improved level of perceived security (45 vs. 10%, CI 95%: 21-49, p value < 0.001) and the total social cost per treatment was lower (28,004 vs. 36,341 SEK). Taken separately the low vision clinic costs were slightly higher due to a higher prescription of assistive devices, but external costs were lower for the Health Education Programme compared to the Individual Programme, though neither of these differences was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that replacing the standard Individual Programme with the Health Education Programme 'Discovering New Ways' is cost-effective as more persons experience increased security to a lesser total cost.