Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Objective: The Walk With Ease (WWE) program was developed by the Arthritis Foundation to help people with arthritis learn to exercise safely and improve arthritis symptoms. We sought to establish the value of the WWE program. Methods: We used the Osteoarthritis Policy (OAPol) Model, a widely published and validated computer simulation of knee osteoarthritis (OA), to assess the cost-effectiveness of WWE in knee OA. We derived model inputs using data from a workplace wellness initiative in Montana that offered WWE to state employees. Our primary outcomes were quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and costs over a 2-year period, which we used to calculate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). The base case analysis was restricted to subjects who were inactive or insufficiently active (<180 min/week of PA) at baseline. We performed scenario and probabilistic sensitivity analyses to determine the impact of uncertainty in model parameters on our results. Results: In the base case analysis, adding WWE to usual care resulted in an ICER of $47,900/QALY. When the program was offered without preselection by baseline activity level, the ICER for WWE + usual care was estimated at $83,400/QALY. Results of the probabilistic sensitivity analysis indicated that WWE offered to inactive or insufficiently active individuals has a 52% chance of having an ICER <$50,000/QALY. Conclusion: The WWE program offers good value for inactive/insufficiently active individuals. Payers may consider including such a program to increase physical activity in individuals with knee OA.
Institutions: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Pivot, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Durham VA Health Care System, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Wake Forest University, The University of Sydney, Royal North Shore Hospital, Harvard University, Boston University
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,400
Awards: ADVANCING ARTHRITIS PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACHES THROUGH NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: EXPANDING AND SUSTAINING THE DISSEMINATION AND DELIVERY OF AAEBIS, G3776944548, G8151124519, Optimizing the value of pain management in knee OA patients with comorbidities, VERITY: Value and Evidence in Rheumatology using bioInformaTics, and advanced analYtics, UNC Core Center for Clinical Research
OpenAlex ID: W4378515137