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Open Access 01-08-2018

The Cost-Effectiveness of the Kiva Antibullying Program: Results from a Decision-Analytic Model

Authors: Mattias Persson, Linn Wennberg, Linda Beckman, Christina Salmivalli, Mikael Svensson

Published in: Prevention Science | Issue 6/2018

Abstract

Bullying causes substantial suffering for children and adolescents. A number of bullying prevention programs have been advocated as effective methods for counteracting school bullying. However, there is a lack of economic evaluations of bullying prevention programs assessing the “value for money.” The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of the Finnish bullying prevention program KiVa in comparison to “status quo” (treatment as usual) in a Swedish elementary school setting (grades 1 to 9). The cost-effectiveness analysis was carried out using a payer perspective based on a Markov cohort model. The costs of the program were measured in Swedish kronor and Euros, and the benefits were measured using two different metrics: (1) the number of victim-free years and (2) the number of quality adjusted life years (QALYs). Data on costs, probability transitions, and health-related quality of life measures were retrieved from published literature. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were carried out to establish the uncertainty of the cost-effectiveness results. The base-case analysis indicated that KiVa leads to an increased cost of €829 for a gain of 0.47 victim-free years per student. In terms of the cost per gained QALY, the results indicated a base-case estimate of €13,823, which may be seen as cost-effective given that it is lower than the typically accepted threshold value in Swedish health policy of around €50,000. Further research is needed to confirm the conclusions of this study, especially regarding the treatment effects of KiVa in different school contexts.

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Title: The Cost-Effectiveness of the Kiva Antibullying Program: Results from a Decision-Analytic Model
Authors: Mattias Persson
Linn Wennberg
Linda Beckman
Christina Salmivalli
Mikael Svensson
Publication date: 01-08-2018
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Prevention Science / Issue 6/2018
Print ISSN: 1389-4986
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6695
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-018-0893-6

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The Cost-Effectiveness of the Kiva Antibullying Program: Results from a Decision-Analytic Model

Abstract

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Abstract

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