TY - JOUR
T1 - Cost-effectiveness analysis of four interventions for adolescents with a substance use disorder
AU - French, Michael T.
AU - Zavala, Silvana K.
AU - McCollister, Kathryn E.
AU - Waldron, Holly B.
AU - Turner, Charles W.
AU - Ozechowski, Timothy J.
N1 - Funding Information:
Financial assistance for this study was provided by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (Grant R01 AA13167) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (Grants R01 DA11506, R01 DA18645, K01 DA139682, and R01 DA09422). We are grateful to Betsy Morrison, Jamila Wade, and Janet Brody for their research assistance, and to William Russell and Carmen Martinez for their editorial assistance. The authors are entirely responsible for the research and results reported in this paper, and their position or opinions do not necessarily represent those of the University of Miami, Oregon Research Institute, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
PY - 2008/4
Y1 - 2008/4
N2 - Alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use among adolescents in the United States continues to be a serious public health challenge. A variety of outpatient treatments for adolescent substance use disorders have been developed and evaluated. Although no specific treatment modality is effective in all settings, a number of promising adolescent interventions have emerged. As policy makers try to prioritize which programs to fund with limited public resources, the need for systematic economic evaluations of these programs is critical. The present study attempted a cost-effectiveness analysis of four interventions, including family-based, individual, and group cognitive behavioral approaches, for adolescents with a substance use disorder. The results indicated that treatment costs varied substantially across the four interventions. Moreover, family therapy showed significantly better substance use outcome compared to group treatment at the 4-month assessment, but group treatment was similar to the other interventions for substance use outcome at the 7-month assessment and for delinquency outcome at both the 4- and 7-month assessments. These findings over a relatively short follow-up period suggest that the least expensive intervention (group) was the most cost-effective. However, this study encountered numerous data and methodological challenges in trying to supplement a completed clinical trial with an economic evaluation. These challenges are explained and recommendations are proposed to guide future economic evaluations in this area.
AB - Alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use among adolescents in the United States continues to be a serious public health challenge. A variety of outpatient treatments for adolescent substance use disorders have been developed and evaluated. Although no specific treatment modality is effective in all settings, a number of promising adolescent interventions have emerged. As policy makers try to prioritize which programs to fund with limited public resources, the need for systematic economic evaluations of these programs is critical. The present study attempted a cost-effectiveness analysis of four interventions, including family-based, individual, and group cognitive behavioral approaches, for adolescents with a substance use disorder. The results indicated that treatment costs varied substantially across the four interventions. Moreover, family therapy showed significantly better substance use outcome compared to group treatment at the 4-month assessment, but group treatment was similar to the other interventions for substance use outcome at the 7-month assessment and for delinquency outcome at both the 4- and 7-month assessments. These findings over a relatively short follow-up period suggest that the least expensive intervention (group) was the most cost-effective. However, this study encountered numerous data and methodological challenges in trying to supplement a completed clinical trial with an economic evaluation. These challenges are explained and recommendations are proposed to guide future economic evaluations in this area.
KW - Adolescent substance use interventions
KW - Adolescent treatment outcomes
KW - Behavioral and family-based interventions
KW - Cost-effectiveness analysis
KW - Substance use disorders
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jsat.2007.04.008
DO - 10.1016/j.jsat.2007.04.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 17600651
AN - SCOPUS:40049104778
VL - 34
SP - 272
EP - 281
JO - Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
JF - Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
SN - 0740-5472
IS - 3
ER -