@article{ref1,
title="Cost effectiveness of supported employment for veterans with spinal cord injuries",
journal="Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation",
year="2014",
author="Sinnott, Patricia L. and Joyce, Vilija and Su, Pon and Ottomanelli, Lisa and Goetz, Lance L. and Wagner, Todd H.",
volume="95",
number="7",
pages="1254-1261",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: To estimate the cost effectiveness of a supported employment (SE) intervention that had been previously found effective in Veterans with spinal cord injuries (SCI). DESIGN: Cost effectiveness analysis, using cost and quality of life data gathered in a trial of SE for Veterans with SCI. Setting: SCI centers in the Veterans Health Administration. PARTICIPANTS: Subjects (N=157) who completed a study of SE in six SCI centers. Subjects were randomly assigned to the intervention of SE (n=81) or treatment as usual (n=76). INTERVENTION: A vocational rehabilitation program of SE for Veterans with SCI. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Costs and quality-adjusted life years which were estimated from the Veterans Rand 36 Health Survey, extrapolated to VR-6D utilities. RESULTS: Average cost for the SE intervention was $1821. In one year of follow-up, estimated total costs, including health care utilization and travel expenses, and average QALYs were not significantly different between groups, suggesting the SCI-VIP intervention was not cost-effective compared to usual care. CONCLUSION: An intensive program of SE for Veterans with SCI which is more effective in achieving competitive employment is not cost-effective after one year of follow-up. Longer follow-up and a larger study sample will be necessary to determine if SE yields benefits and is cost-effective in the long run for a population with SCI.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0003-9993",
doi="10.1016/j.apmr.2014.01.010",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2014.01.010"
}