Health Economic Perspective on Internet-Based Psychological Interventions for the Prevention and Management of Eating Disorders.

Abstract

Background: Internet-based psychological interventions are becoming a feasible substitute for conventional in-person therapy. This article provides a perspective on health economic evaluations of internet-based interventions employed for preventing and managing eating disorders (EDs).

Methods: A comprehensive search was undertaken from January 2000 to December 2023 across five general medical and three health economic databases. The goal was to identify complete economic evaluations of internet-based strategies for managing and preventing EDs.

Results: A total of seven economic evaluations were found, carried out across four countries. The studies utilized internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy, Featback, and virtual Body Project groups as experimental interventions. The controls were either wait-list comparison groups or recipients of face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy. Among the seven studies evaluated, five indicated that internet-based interventions were more advantageous in terms of cost and clinical benefits based on both societal and health care perspectives. One study supported implementation of the internet-based intervention primarily based on cost, and one study's findings were inconclusive.

Conclusion: From both societal and health care perspectives, internet-based interventions offer significant benefits in terms of cost and clinical effectiveness. The current body of evidence, however, is limited by the small number of studies and methodological variations. It is also essential to understand that these intervention outcomes may be influenced by comparator choice and thresholds for willingness to pay.