TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2006//
TI  - Can a Costly Intervention Be Cost-effective?: An Analysis of Violence Prevention
JO  - Archives of general psychiatry
A1  - Foster, E. Michael
A1  - Jones, Deann
SP  - 1284
EP  - 1291
VL  - 63
IS  - 11
N2  - OBJECTIVES: To examine the cost-effectiveness of the Fast Track intervention, a multi-year, multi-component intervention designed to reduce violence among at-risk children. A previous report documented the favorable effect of intervention on the highest-risk group of ninth-graders diagnosed with conduct disorder, as well as self-reported delinquency. The current report addressed the cost-effectiveness of the intervention for these measures of program impact. DESIGN: Costs of the intervention were estimated using program budgets. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were computed to determine the cost per unit of improvement in the 3 outcomes measured in the 10th year of the study. RESULTS: Examination of the total sample showed that the intervention was not cost-effective at likely levels of policymakers' willingness to pay for the key outcomes. Subsequent analysis of those most at risk, however, showed that the intervention likely was cost-effective given specified willingness-to-pay criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that the intervention is cost-effective for the children at highest risk. From a policy standpoint, this finding is encouraging because such children are likely to generate higher costs for society over their lifetimes. However, substantial barriers to cost-effectiveness remain, such as the ability to effectively identify and recruit such higher-risk children in future implementations.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0003-990X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.63.11.1284
ID  - ref1
ER  -