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Measuring resource use in economic evaluations: Determining the social costs of mental illness

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Abstract

Concern over costs associated with mental disorders has led to an increase in the number of economic evaluations of treatment interventions; unfortunately, methods for measuring resource use have not kept pace with this concern. Although it is well-known that a significant proportion of the costs associated with mental illness are for resources other than treatment, program evaluators and researchers often count only treatment costs in cost-effectiveness comparisons. Further, existing methods for measuring resource use are plagued by faulty assumptions about resource use, poor validity and reliability, and difficulties quantifying resource use. The authors discuss these problems and suggest five ways of improving measurement of nontreatment resources: clarifying assumptions, using multiple data sources, flexible data collection strategies, methods for improving the accuracy of recall, and an episodic approach to measurement.

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Author notes

  1. Robin E. Clark Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Community and Family Medicine and Psychiatry), Gregory B. Teague Ph.D. (research assistant professor of psychiatry and of community and family medicine), Susan K. Ricketts B.S. (research assistant), Philip W. Bush M.B.A. (research associate), Adam M. Keller M.P.H. (chief financial officer), Michael Zubkoff Ph.D. (professor of community and family, medicine and psychiatry) & Robert E. Drake M.D., Ph.D. (Andrew Thomson Professor of Psychiatry)

    Present address: New Hampshire-Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, Dartmouth, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community and Family Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School, Strasenburgh 7250, 03755-3862, Hanover, NH

    Robin E. Clark Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Community and Family Medicine and Psychiatry), Gregory B. Teague Ph.D. (research assistant professor of psychiatry and of community and family medicine), Susan K. Ricketts B.S. (research assistant), Philip W. Bush M.B.A. (research associate), Adam M. Keller M.P.H. (chief financial officer), Michael Zubkoff Ph.D. (professor of community and family, medicine and psychiatry) & Robert E. Drake M.D., Ph.D. (Andrew Thomson Professor of Psychiatry)

  2. Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, Hanover, USA

    Michael Zubkoff Ph.D. (professor of community and family, medicine and psychiatry)

Authors
  1. Robin E. Clark Ph.D.
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  2. Gregory B. Teague Ph.D.
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  3. Susan K. Ricketts B.S.
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  4. Philip W. Bush M.B.A.
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  5. Adam M. Keller M.P.H.
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  6. Michael Zubkoff Ph.D.
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  7. Robert E. Drake M.D., Ph.D.
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Additional information

Preparation of this article was supported by grant #R01-MH47567 from the National Institute of Mental Health.

An earlier version of this article was presented to the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, May 5, 1992 in Washington, DC.

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Clark, R.E., Teague, G.B., Ricketts, S.K. et al. Measuring resource use in economic evaluations: Determining the social costs of mental illness. The Journal of Mental Health Administration 21, 32–41 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02521343

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