Cost-utility of a visiting service for older widowed individuals
Author Information
Author(s): Simone Onrust, Filip Smit, Godelief Willemse, Jan van den Bout, Pim Cuijpers
Primary Institution: Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction (Trimbos-instituut)
Hypothesis
Can a visiting service for older widowed individuals be cost-effective compared to care as usual?
Conclusion
Selective bereavement interventions like the visiting service will not produce large benefits from a health economic point of view when targeted towards the entire population of all widowed individuals.
Supporting Evidence
- The visiting service group showed a slight improvement in health-related quality of life.
- Participants in the control group did not show improvement in health-related quality of life.
- The visiting service had a 31% probability of being acceptable at a willingness to pay of zero.
Takeaway
The study looked at whether a visiting service for lonely widows and widowers is worth the money. It found that while it helps a bit, it might not be the best use of funds for everyone.
Methodology
A cost-utility analysis alongside a randomized clinical trial comparing a visiting service for older widowed individuals to care as usual.
Potential Biases
Self-selection of the least vulnerable individuals may have biased the results.
Limitations
The study was underpowered to detect changes in costs, had a high initial non-response rate, and the sample may not be representative of all widowed individuals.
Participant Demographics
The sample consisted of 138 widows (63.8%) and 78 widowers (36.2%), aged 50 to 92 years, with an average age of 68.8 years.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.008
Confidence Interval
–€627,530 – €668,056
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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