Date of Award

January 2021

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

School of Public Health

First Advisor

Debbie Humphries

Abstract

Background: Diabetes is one of the major health concerns in the US. According to the National Diabetes Statistics Report, about 13% adults in the U.S. had diabetes, and 34.5% of the U.S. adults were categorized as prediabetic. An estimated cost of $327 billion were reported as relevant to diagnosed diabetes in 2017 in the United States by the American Diabetes Association. The virtual Diabetes Prevention Program (vDPP) was designed to address barriers that low social-economic status participants faced when they were enrolled in a diabetes prevention program. It used a digital platform to deliver courses, organize meetings and monitor health outcomes, on the purpose of saving participants’ time and money. It also had community health workers (CHW) to assist the implementation. This review aimed at identify approaches to analyze the value of the vDPP economically.Method: We explored two approaches to comparing vDPP costs with costs of previous similar programs: cost effectiveness, which specifically interested in program costs per specified behavior change, and cost benefit, which investigated both program costs and program benefits. The health outcome we were interested in were body weight, HbA1c level and physical activity level. Results: The program costs were divided into two categories: fixed and recurrent, for easier understanding and collecting. The program benefits were represented by medical cost savings, which could be estimated based on health outcome changes, or compared with other similar interventions. Discussion: Comparing program costs existed studies with matched results was easier to accomplished than collecting patient cost savings, on the aspect of showing program benefits. However, the final decision is still pending due to the complexity of the analysis.

Comments

This is an Open Access Thesis.

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