Concept for a health care economic evaluation of short- and long-term costs and effectiveness parameters of an expanded ambulatory psychosomatic rehabilitation program

There are only few ambulatory rehabilitation concepts for mothers with psychosomatic disorders (prevalence 5%). Also, only little is known about the evaluation of these programmes. This study compares the socioeconomic evaluations of an ambulatory rehabilitation programme with a post-assistance programme and one without a post-assistance programme. The superior programme should be determined by weighing all relevant costs and benefits. The intensive phase of the ambulatory rehabilitation programme consists of an eight-week treatment with group, single, body and art therapy. The post-assistance programme spans a period of nine-months with 36 sessions of psychoanalytic group therapy. The evaluation of both programme alternatives is made by with the evaluation tool of socioeconomic analyses. For consideration and pricing of costs all direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs and indirect costs are being monitored. Outcomes assessment is realised by cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis and cost-benefit analysis. Utilisation of the health care system is being assessed with questionnaires. Measurements are being performed at the beginning and the end of the rehabilitation programme and three, six, nine and twelve months later. Mothers with children aged six years and younger and suffering from various psychosomatic disorders were included in this study. The costs identified for the rehabilitation programme are DM 5571.10 (intensive care and post-assistance programme) and DM 1512.40 (intensive care) per patient. Further progress of the study will show if future cost will differ between the two alternatives. For the comparison of both alternatives all costs will be linked with outcomes. It remains to be seen that additional costs of the post-assistance programme will be compensated with positive outcomes. A sensitivity analysis will show if variation of assumptions will influence the cost-benefit-ratio of the different alternatives.