The impact of a lifestyle behaviour change program on healthcare costs: Quasi-experimental real-world evidence from an open-access mobile health app in the Netherlands

IF 4.3 2区医学 Q1 MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL

Preventive medicine Pub Date : 2024-11-10 DOI:10.1016/j.ypmed.2024.108174

Elena Agachi , Jochen O. Mierau , Koert van Ittersum , Tammo H.A. Bijmolt

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

Recognizing the substantial role of modifiable risk factors such as physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, and substance use in driving global healthcare expenses, this study aims to assess the impact of a lifestyle behaviour change mobile health (mHealth) app on healthcare costs within a real-world setting.

Methods

Employing a difference-in-difference approach, this research compared healthcare costs between users of an mHealth app (treatment group) and a propensity score-matched control group of non-users. The study included data from 15,506 participants in the Netherlands, covering healthcare cost records collected from 2015 to 2019.

Results

The implementation of the mHealth app was linked to a steady reduction in healthcare costs, achieving a 4.9 % decrease (

β = - 0.05, 95 % CI : - 0.10 to 0.00

) during the first year following the program's implementation, and a further 5.3 % decrease (

β = - 0.05, 95 % CI : - 0.10 to - 0.00

) in the second year. This healthcare costs reduction is associated with lower expenses for general practitioner services as well as diminished specialist visits. Additionally, increased app use led to further cost reductions, with frequency of use proving more important than intensity.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that a behaviour change mHealth app is linked to significant reductions in healthcare costs, with more frequent and intense use leading to greater savings. Given their relatively low cost and ability to reach diverse population groups, such apps not only enhance individual health outcomes but can also serve as effective policy tools for large-scale health promotion, supporting broader societal health improvements.

查看原文本刊更多论文

改变生活方式计划对医疗成本的影响：来自荷兰一款开放式移动医疗应用程序的准实验性真实证据。

研究目的本研究旨在评估改变生活方式行为的移动医疗（mHealth）应用对现实世界中医疗费用的影响：本研究采用差分法，比较了移动医疗应用程序用户（治疗组）与倾向得分匹配的非用户对照组的医疗费用。研究纳入了荷兰15506名参与者的数据，涵盖2015年至2019年收集的医疗成本记录：移动医疗应用程序的实施与医疗费用的稳步下降有关，在计划实施后的第一年，医疗费用下降了4.9%（β=-0.05，95%CI：-0.10至0.00），第二年进一步下降了5.3%（β=-0.05，95%CI：-0.10至0.00）。医疗成本的降低与全科医生服务费用的降低以及专科医生就诊次数的减少有关。此外，增加应用程序的使用还能进一步降低成本，使用频率比使用强度更重要：这项研究表明，改变行为的移动医疗应用程序可显著降低医疗成本，使用频率和强度越高，节省的费用就越多。鉴于其相对低廉的成本和覆盖不同人群的能力，此类应用程序不仅能提高个人健康水平，还能作为有效的政策工具，促进大规模的健康推广，支持更广泛的社会健康改善。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Preventive medicine 医学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生

CiteScore

7.70

自引率

3.90%

发文量

审稿时长

42 days

期刊介绍： Founded in 1972 by Ernst Wynder, Preventive Medicine is an international scholarly journal that provides prompt publication of original articles on the science and practice of disease prevention, health promotion, and public health policymaking. Preventive Medicine aims to reward innovation. It will favor insightful observational studies, thoughtful explorations of health data, unsuspected new angles for existing hypotheses, robust randomized controlled trials, and impartial systematic reviews. Preventive Medicine''s ultimate goal is to publish research that will have an impact on the work of practitioners of disease prevention and health promotion, as well as of related disciplines.