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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2012 Sep;41(5):635-41.
doi: 10.1093/ageing/afs071. Epub 2012 Jun 13.

Community falls prevention for people who call an emergency ambulance after a fall: an economic evaluation alongside a randomised controlled trial

Tracey H Sach  1 , Philippa A Logan, Carol A C Coupland, John R F Gladman, Opinder Sahota, Valarie Stoner-Hobbs, Kate Robertson, Vicki Tomlinson, Marie Ward, Anthony J Avery
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Community falls prevention for people who call an emergency ambulance after a fall: an economic evaluation alongside a randomised controlled trial

Tracey H Sach et al. Age Ageing. 2012 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: we estimated the cost-effectiveness of a community falls prevention service compared with usual care from a National Health Service and personal social services perspective over the 12 month trial period.

Design: a cost-effectiveness and cost utility analysis alongside a randomised controlled trial

Setting: community.

Participants: people over 60 years of age living at home or in residential care who had fallen and called an emergency ambulance but were not taken to hospital.

Interventions: referral to community fall prevention services or usual health and social care.

Measurements: incremental cost per fall prevented and incremental cost per Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs)

Results: a total of 157 participants (82 interventions and 75 controls) were used to perform the economic evaluation. The mean difference in NHS and personal social service costs between the groups was £-1,551 per patient over 1 year (95% CI: £-5,932 to £2,829) comparing the intervention and control groups. The intervention patients experienced on average 5.34 fewer falls over 12 months (95% CI: -7.06 to -3.62). The mean difference in QALYs was 0.070 (95% CI: -0.010 to 0.150) in favour of the intervention group.

Conclusion: the community falls prevention service was estimated to be cost-effective in this high-risk group. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN67535605. (controlled-trials.com).

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Decision uncertainty: Cost Effectiveness Acceptability Curves for intervention and usual care when patient and carer costs are included.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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