Abstract - Behavioral adjuncts have been shown to enhance the effectiveness of Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in smoking cessation. However, the cost implications of these adjuncts to NRT have not been fully explored. This study tries to determine the cost-effectiveness of combining behavioral interventions with NRT. Patients in our NIH/NCI funded trial were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: (A) NRT (n=84); (B) NRT plus an intensive behavioral intervention (n=74); and (C) NRT plus an equally intensive behavioral intervention delivered by a health educator (n=77). Patients in all three conditions received a six-week supply of nicotine transdermal patches and an Enhanced Standard of Care (ESC). In addition to NRT and an ESC, those in condition "B" received a stop smoking video, two mailings, and six phone contacts. Those in condition "C" received four home visits and six phone contacts from trained health educators, as well as two mailings. Quit rates were 10.7%, 25.7%, and 26.0% for A, B, and C conditions, respectively. The least intensive A condition was also least expensive per patient ($190), relative to condition B ($243) and condition C ($237). However, the C condition, though more costly on a per patient basis, was the most cost effective in terms of cost per quit ($914), relative to the A condition ($1,777) or the B condition ($949). These initial findings suggest that, in addition to being more efficacious, behavioral adjuncts to NRT are also more cost effective than NRT alone.
Learning Objectives: The participants will be able to : 1) Learn that the most intensive behavioral adjunct to Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) for smoking cessation is actually least expensive on a per quit basis. 2) Understand how to use a simple, easy-to-adopt method for cost effectiveness evaluation of a medical intervention in a randomized trial
Keywords: Smoking Cessation, Cost Issues
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.