Health Economic Evaluation of Cognitive Control Training for Depression: Key Considerations

Constance Nève de Mévergnies; Nick Verhaeghe; Ernst H W Koster; Chris Baeken; Yannick Vander Zwalmen; Kristof Hoorelbeke

doi:10.2196/44679

Health Economic Evaluation of Cognitive Control Training for Depression: Key Considerations

JMIR Ment Health. 2023 Aug 18:10:e44679. doi: 10.2196/44679.

Authors

Constance Nève de Mévergnies^{1

2}, Nick Verhaeghe^{2

3}, Ernst H W Koster¹, Chris Baeken^{4

5

6}, Yannick Vander Zwalmen¹, Kristof Hoorelbeke¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
² Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
³ Department of Public Health, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
⁴ Department of Head and Skin, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Brussel (UZBrussel), Brussels, Belgium.
⁶ Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands.

PMID: 37594847
PMCID: PMC10474514
DOI: 10.2196/44679

Abstract

Depression is a serious and burdensome psychiatric illness that contributes heavily to health expenditures. These costs are partly related to the observation that depression is often not limited to a single episode but can recur or follow a chronic pathway. In terms of risk factors, it is acknowledged that cognitive impairments play a crucial role in vulnerability to depression. Within this context, cognitive control training (CCT) has shown its effectiveness in reducing the risk for recurrence of depression. CCT is low cost intensive and can be provided as a web-based intervention, which makes it easy to disseminate. Despite increasing interest in the field, studies examining the cost-effectiveness of CCT in the context of depression are largely missing. Health economic evaluation (HEE) allows to inform decision makers with evidence-based insights about how to spend limited available (financial) resources in the most efficient way. HEE studies constitute a crucial step in the implementation of a new intervention in clinical practice. Approaching preventive measures for depression such as CCT from an HEE perspective is informative to health policy, fostering optimal use of health expenditures. The aim of this paper was to inform and guide researchers during the phase of designing HEE studies in the context of CCT for depression. A clear view of CCT's cost-effectiveness is paramount for its clinical implementation.

Keywords: CCT; cognitive control training; cost utility; depression recurrence; health economic evaluation; health policies.

©Constance Nève de Mévergnies, Nick Verhaeghe, Ernst H W Koster, Chris Baeken, Yannick Vander Zwalmen, Kristof Hoorelbeke. Originally published in JMIR Mental Health (https://mental.jmir.org), 18.08.2023.