Drug use can lead to significant financial, psychological, physical health and social consequences for family members. Despite this, previous economic assessments of drug use interventions have not included the costs and benefits to family members of treatment for the drug user.
This study aims to use a discrete choice experiment (DCE) survey to quantify the impact of hypothetical treatment outcomes on family members who have been affected by the drug use of a relative.
It is hoped that the results of the study will serve as an initial step in addressing the lack of health economic data for family members affected by the drug use of a relative. This study forms part of a larger NHMRC funded research project ‘The value of providing health interventions for heroin use: a cost benefit analysis’. This larger study aims to estimate the net social benefit of heroin treatment, taking into account health, crime, social and family consequences.
To quantify the economic impact to family members of treatment for the drug user.
The study commenced June 2014 with the survey launched in August 2014. This survey recruitment portion of the study is now complete. Data analysis is underway.
Marian Shanahan , Jennifer Seddon, Alison Ritter & Richard De Abreu Lourenco. Valuing families’ preferences for drug treatment: a discrete choice experiment. Addiction. Published on-line 10 September 2019 https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14816
This novel approach will provide information for policy makers a measure the intangible harms to families.