In order for evaluation studies of mental health service interventions to be useful for purposes such as resource allocation, benefits, effects, or utilities need to be examined in conjunction with their associated costs. Since such studies can be very complex, their implementation expensive, and the results controversial, it is surprising that so little attention has been paid to methods for statistical analysis that enables meaningful inference. The global aim of this proposal is to develop a statistical framework for describing and comparing costs and benefits among programs. Specifically, 1. we will develop statistical models that characterize programs in terms of the joint distribution of cost and benefits; 2. we will develop statistical methods for contrasting, ranking and selecting programs in terms of their costs and benefits; and 3. we will test these newly developed approaches on several cost-benefit data sets and compare the results with those obtained by the use of present methods. One procedure to compare programs is based on multivariate """"""""admissibility"""""""" criteria. Another is to rank order or select the best program based on a preference measure. Statistical procedures will be developed for testing admissibility, for testing equality of programs with respect to preference measures and for ranking and selection for various models of the distribution of costs and benefits.
| Brent, Robert J (2004) The role of public and private transfers in the cost-benefit analysis of mental health programs. Health Econ 13:1125-36 |
| Laska, E M; Meisner, M; Siegel, C (1997) Statistical inference for cost-effectiveness ratios. Health Econ 6:229-42 |
| Dickey, B; Fisher, W; Siegel, C et al. (1997) The cost and outcomes of community-based care for the seriously mentally ill. Health Serv Res 32:599-614 |
| Laska, E M; Meisner, M; Siegel, C (1997) The usefulness of average cost-effective ratios. Health Econ 6:497-504 |
| Siegel, C; Laska, E; Meisner, M (1996) Statistical methods for cost-effectiveness analyses. Control Clin Trials 17:387-406 |
| Jones, K; Colson, P; Valencia, E et al. (1994) A preliminary cost effectiveness analysis of an intervention to reduce homelessness among the mentally ill. Psychiatr Q 65:243-56 |
