Cost Analysis of Implementing a Video-Based eHealth Intervention for HIV-Positive Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men

Abstract

Clinician-delivered HIV prevention interventions are common and often effective but have small reach, particularly in remote, rural, or sparsely populated areas. Electronic health (eHealth) interventions may be an efficient alternative to providing HIV prevention to geographically dispersed or traditionally hard-to-reach populations, though eHealth interventions tend to have high start-up costs. We present cost data from a video-based eHealth intervention, Sex Positive!, among 1,208 U.S. gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men living with HIV. Specifically, we provide estimates for the cost of the intervention, overall, and per participant based on funding amounts. The total average cost per participant was $1,021. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that reaching more participants would greatly reduce the average cost per participant. Findings indicate that the cost per person engaged in an eHealth HIV intervention is consistent with previous studies, and that further scaling up would greatly reduce the cost while increasing reach.