Economic evaluations of electronic health interventions for people with age-related cognitive impairment and their caregivers: A systematic review

Authors：Zhao, Qing; Li, Cheng; Zhang, Yu; Tang, Hui-Ting; Wang, Jing; Yu, Xiao-Hong; Zhao, Yue; Xing, Ying; Yu, Jie; Ye, Juan; Shan, En-Fang; Li, Xian-Wen^*

Source：INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, 2023, 38(9): e5990.

DOI：10.1002/gps.5990

• caregiver
• cognitive dysfunction
• dementia
• economic evaluation
• systematic review

Objects: Dementia has physical, social and economic impacts, causing considerable distress for people with age-related cognitive impairment (PWACI) and their caregivers. Electronic health (e-health) interventions can provide convenient education to improve the coping competence of caregivers and have become an important approach to supporting them. Understanding the economic evidence of e-health interventions will facilitate the decision making and implementation of integrating e-health into routine health services. The present review aimed to appraise economic evidence related to e-health interventions for PWACI and their caregivers. @@@ Methods: We systematically searched multiple cross-disciplinary databases from inception to February 28, 2023. Two reviewers independently selected the trials, assessed the quality, and checked the data. A descriptive-analytical narrative method was used to analyze the review findings. @@@ Results: Thirteen studies were analyzed, including 12 randomized controlled trials and one quasi-experimental study. All included studies were conducted in developed countries. The included studies reported limited economic information. There were six cost-effectiveness analysis, five cost-consequence analysis and one partial economic evaluation. The included studies were heterogeneous, and varied in quality. The results demonstrated that e-health multicomponent interventions can reduce the cost of health service utilization in short term (10-104 weeks). @@@ Conclusions: Few studies calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio to evaluate the cost- effectiveness of e- health interventions. Preliminary evidence indicates that e-health interventions can reduce the cost of health service utilization in the short term, but the cost-effectiveness of e-health interventions hasn't been identified. More robust evidence is needed to clarify the value of e-health interventions for PWACI and their caregivers.

• Institution
  南京航空航天大学; 南方医科大学