Cost analyses of peer health worker and mHealth support interventions for improving AIDS care in Rakai, Uganda

AIDS Care. 2013;25(5):652-6. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2012.722600. Epub 2012 Sep 13.

Abstract

A cost analysis study calculates resources needed to deliver an intervention and can provide useful information on affordability for service providers and policy-makers. We conducted cost analyses of both a peer health worker (PHW) and a mHealth (mobile phone) support intervention. Excluding supervisory staffing costs, total yearly costs for the PHW intervention was $8475, resulting in a yearly cost per patient of $8.74, per virologic failure averted cost of $189, and per patient lost to follow-up averted cost of $1025. Including supervisory staffing costs increased total yearly costs to $14,991. Yearly costs of the mHealth intervention were an additional $1046, resulting in a yearly cost per patient of $2.35. In a threshold analysis, the PHW intervention was found to be cost saving if it was able to avert 1.50 patients per year from switching to second-line antiretroviral therapy. Other AIDS care programs may find these intervention costs affordable.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / therapy*
  • Cell Phone / statistics & numerical data*
  • Community Health Services / methods
  • Costs and Cost Analysis*
  • Humans
  • Patient Care Team / economics
  • Quality of Health Care / economics
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Telemedicine / economics*
  • Uganda