Project Description
Challenge
Disability is associated with increased health and social service costs that vary significantly with the severity of the disability. In Canada, estimating the costs associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) is challenging because the diagnosis process is lengthy. There are many costs to consider throughout a person’s lifespan, such as medical care, educational expenses or expenses to family or caretakers.
However, limited healthcare budgets mean that we cannot implement every effective intervention. So, decision-makers may rely on information provided by economic evaluation to make decisions about the cost-effectiveness of a novel approach. Unfortunately, little evidence exists regarding the profitability of these interventions for children with NDD and their families.
Project Summary
The objective of KBHN’s Health Economic Assessment is to build capacity in economic evaluation for NDD, which will lead to better and more equitable resource allocation.
Investigators published a background paper examining critical emerging issues and challenges for economic evaluation in the field of developmental disability. This paper was presented at the Alberta Health Economics Study Group in November 2016. They also conducted a systematic review of economic evaluations done to date on specific developmental disabilities, which was published in 2019.
Result
Consultation with all KBHN projects to discuss socioeconomic outcomes and impact measures is ongoing. This research has made clear the need for more information about service utilization and impacts on quality of life for children and families, including the need to adapt measures and methods of economic evaluation to the specific circumstances of children with NDD.
Ultimately, researchers hope that this work will inform public health policies and resource allocation decisions for services for children with NDD. They also hope that it will improve quality of life and potentially increase workforce participation and productivity later in life.
Funding
This project was part of the larger “Social Determinates of Health Program.” As part of the program, this project was funded $800,000 by the Kids Brain Health Network and $640,431 by participating partners.
Team
Dr. Jennifer Zwicker, University of Calgary
