Supporting Strategic Investment in Social Programs: a Cost Analysis of the Family Check-Up.
Prev Sci
; 21(2): 256-267, 2020 02.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31902038
ABSTRACT
High-quality evidence about the costs of effective interventions for children can provide a foundation for fiscally responsible policy capable of achieving impact. This study estimated the costs to society of the Family Check-up, an evidence-based brief home-visiting intervention for high-risk families implemented in the Early Steps multisite efficacy trial. Intervention arm families in three sites were offered 4 consecutive years of intervention, when target children were ages 2 through 5. Data for estimating total, average, and marginal costs and family burden (means and standard deviations, 2015 USD, discounted at 3% per year) came from a detailed database that prospectively documented resource use at the family level and a supplemental interview with trial leaders. Secondary analyses evaluated differences in costs among higher and lower risk families using repeated measures analysis of variance. Results indicated annual average costs of $1066 per family (SD = $400), with time spent by families valued at an additional $84 (SD = $99) on average. Costs declined significantly from ages 2 through 5. Once training and oversight patterns were established, additional families could be served at half the cost, $501 (SD = $404). On the margin, higher risk families cost more, $583 (SD = $444) compared to $463 (SD = $380) for lower risk families, but prior analyses showed they also benefited more. Sensitivity analyses indicated potential for wage-related cost savings in real-world implementation compared to the university-based trial. This study illustrates the dynamics of Family Check-up resource use over time and across families differing in risk.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Child Behavior
/
Problem Behavior
/
House Calls
Type of study:
Health_economic_evaluation
/
Qualitative_research
Limits:
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
Language:
En
Journal:
Prev Sci
Journal subject:
CIENCIA
Year:
2020
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Estados Unidos