Potential cost‐effectiveness of e‐health interventions for treating overweight and obesity in Australian adolescents

Abstract

SummaryBackgroundE‐health, defined as the use of information and communication technologies to improve healthcare delivery and health outcomes, has been promoted as a cost‐effective strategy to treat adolescent overweight and obesity. However, evidence supporting this claim is lacking.ObjectivesAssess the potential cost‐effectiveness of a hypothetical e‐health intervention for adolescents with overweight and obesity.MethodsThe costs and effect size (BMI reduction) of the hypothetical intervention were sourced from recent systematic reviews. Using a micro‐simulation model with a lifetime time horizon, we conducted a modelled cost‐utility analysis of the intervention compared to a ‘do‐nothing’ approach. To explore uncertainty, we conducted bootstrapping on individual‐level costs and quality‐adjusted life years (QALYs) and performed multiple one‐way sensitivity analyses.ResultsThe incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio (ICER) for the e‐health intervention was dominant (cheaper and more effective), with a 96% probability of being cost‐effective at a willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) of $50 000/QALY. The ICER remained dominant in all sensitivity analyses except when using the lower bounds of the hypothetical intervention effect size, which reduced the probability of cost‐effectiveness at a WTP of $50 000/QALY to 51%.ConclusionE‐health interventions for treatment of adolescent overweight and obesity demonstrate very good cost‐effectiveness potential and should be considered by healthcare decision makers. However, further research on the efficacy of such interventions is warranted to strengthen the case for investment.