Non-pharmacological interventions for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia include reminiscence and behavioural therapies help improve the quality of life of people living with these diseases, as well as that of their caregivers. In a new article published in the Alzheimer’s and Dementia journal, a team of US-based researchers evaluated the cost-effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions which aim to reduce long-term care admissions for people with AD and dementia. Their findings indicate that non-pharmacological interventions increase quality of life and are also cost-effective, reducing societal costs and extending the length of time that people with AD and dementia can live in the community.
In their publication, the researchers calculated the cost saving, quality of life improvement and additional years in the community for four non-pharmacological interventions targeted at people with AD or dementia and their caregivers. These included counselling sessions, support services for caregivers, and individualised care planning, with monthly costs ranging from USD50 to USD160 for each dyad (person with AD/dementia and their caregiver). Using a microsimulation technique to assess cost-effectiveness, researchers modelled the likelihood (or hazard ratio) of admission to long-term care for each intervention, incorporating societal costs (e.g. paid caregiving time, medical care expenditure, nursing home costs) and health-related quality of life measures.
All four interventions led to small quality of life improvements, and also reduced the rate of admission to long-term care by a fortnight to just under two months, depending on the intervention. All four interventions reduced societal costs and were more effective than usual care, with cost savings for families ranging from US2,813 to USD13,282. Linked to this, authors concluded their article by calling on US payers to reimburse evidence-based non-pharmacological interventions. Read the article abstract, here:
https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz.12964
