Are Mhealth Interventions to Prevent Diabetes Cost-Effective? a Systematic Review

Author(s)

Ballreich J, Ward T, Park S
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

Presentation Documents

OBJECTIVES:

To synthesize evidence on the cost effectiveness of mHealth interventions designed to prevent diabetes

METHODS:

We conducted a systematic review of economic evaluation studies evaluating mHealth interventions used to prevent the development of diabetes. Studies meeting search criteria and published between January 2000 and December 2020 underwent a blinded review by two researchers using pre-specified criteria. Studies meeting criteria were analyzed for key economic evaluation component including study setting and population, decision model, interventions, key outcomes, and results. We categorized the strength of evidence for the cost effectiveness of mHealth interventions as strong, supportive, or uncertain.

RESULTS: One hundred and sixty studies met initial search criteria. Of these, four studies qualified for inclusion. All four of the studies were published after 2015. The types of mHealth interventions assessed included digital behavioral counseling program, online diabetes prevention program, and SMS messaging. Two studies had non-United States settings. The most common perspective was the healthcare system perspective (3 studies). We found strong evidence for cost-effectiveness of the online diabetes prevention program and SMS messaging. A study on digital behavioral counseling programs showed supportive evidence for the cost-effectiveness of such intervention. A different study on an online diabetes prevention program showed evidence of cost-effectiveness at a willingness to pay threshold of $20,000. One study resulted in a poor cost-effectiveness assessment of the mHealth intervention because the health effects of the mHealth arm were negative relative to the comparator with no significant effect on the prevalence of intermediate hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our results suggest there is limited evidence demonstrating the value of mHealth interventions for people with prediabetes. The growing popularity of mHealth interventions across chronic conditions including prediabetes should warrant additional economic evaluations to facilitate stakeholders' assessment of their value prior to widespread adoption.

Conference/Value in Health Info

2022-05, ISPOR 2022, Washington, DC, USA

Value in Health, Volume 25, Issue 6, S1 (June 2022)

Code

MT11

Topic

Economic Evaluation, Medical Technologies, Study Approaches

Topic Subcategory

Cost-comparison, Effectiveness, Utility, Benefit Analysis, Digital Health, Literature Review & Synthesis

Disease

No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas

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