The cost-effectiveness of smoking cessation support delivered by mobile phone text messaging: Txt2stop.
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Date
2013-08-26
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Abstract
BACKGROUND The txt2stop trial has shown that mobile phone based smoking cessation support doubles biochemically validated quitting at 6 months This study examines the cost effectiveness of smoking cessation support delivered by mobile phone text messaging METHODS The lifetime incremental costs and benefits of adding text based support to current practice are estimated from a UK NHS perspective using a Markov model The cost effectiveness was measured in terms of cost per quitter cost per life year gained and cost per QALY gained As in previous studies smokers are assumed to face a higher risk of experiencing the following five diseases lung cancer stroke myocardial infarction chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and coronary heart disease i e the main fatal or disabling but by no means the only adverse effects of prolonged smoking The treatment costs and health state values associated with these diseases were identified from the literature The analysis was based on the age and gender distribution observed in the txt2stop trial Effectiveness and cost parameters were varied in deterministic sensitivity analyses and a probabilistic sensitivity analysis was also performed FINDINGS The cost of text based support per 1 000 enrolled smokers is 16 120 which given an estimated 58 additional quitters at 6 months equates to 278 per quitter However when the future NHS costs saved as a result of reduced smoking are included text based support would be cost saving It is estimated that 18 LYs are gained per 1 000 smokers 0 3 LYs per quitter receiving text based support and 29 QALYs are gained 0 5 QALYs per quitter The deterministic sensitivity analysis indicated that changes in individual model parameters did not alter the conclusion that this is a cost effective intervention Similarly the probabilistic sensitivity analysis indicated a 90 chance that the intervention will be cost saving INTERPRETATION This study shows that under a wide variety of conditions personalised smoking cessation advice and support by mobile phone message is both beneficial for health and cost saving to a health system
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Drug users, Client, Access to information or data, Low adherence to treatments, Loss to follow up, Cost, Expenses related to service delivery, Tobacco Use, Non-communicable diseases, Chronic care, Health education or promotion, Appointment reminders, Treatment adherence, Mass messaging campaigns, Disease management, SMS, Text