Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of behavioral interventions in nonclinical settings for improving health outcomes.

Abstract

This paper examines three distinct examples of interventions in nonclinical settings selected to highlight the challenges and opportunities for evaluating cost-effectiveness in the field of health psychology and behavioral medicine. Nonclinical settings are defined as those involving systems outside of traditional medical/clinical settings, and include interventions tested in clinical settings that can also be implemented in nonclinical settings. The examples in this paper reflect the use of a varying degree of existing cost-effectiveness data and previous health economic analyses. First, the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program model reflects an intervention protocol designed to increase patients' confidence and mastery in their ability to manage their conditions that has been shown to be cost effective for a variety of chronic disease conditions. Second, the cost and cost-effectiveness of tobacco quitlines (e.g., National Tobacco Quit Line) has been the subject of several preliminary cost-effectiveness examinations and has proven to have significant reach and impact on tobacco-related behaviors. Finally, environmental interventions for promoting walking and physical activity in community-based contexts (e.g., PATH trial) are presented and have been shown to be highly relevant for demonstrating cost-effectiveness. Overall, the disciplines of health psychology and behavioral medicine are in a unique position to develop, implement, and evaluate a broader range of interventions in more diverse environments than cost-effectiveness applications in more traditional, clinical settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).