The cost-effectiveness of the WINGS intervention: a program to prevent HIV and sexually transmitted diseases among high-risk urban women

Table 4 Selected cost and effectiveness estimates

	Indirect HIV costs included		Indirect HIV costs excluded
Item estimated	Complete intervention	Condom use skills component of intervention	Complete intervention	Condom use skills component of intervention
Cost of intervention	$121,296	$51,338	$121,296	$51,338
Expected number of HIV cases averted	0.2195	0.1756	0.2195	0.1756
Expected HIV costs averted	$73,960	$59,168	$42,796	$34,237
Net cost (intervention costs – HIV costs averted)	$47,336	-$7,830	$78,500	$17,101
Average cost per HIV case averted	$215,690	cost-saving	$357,690	$97,404
Incremental cost per HIV case averted	$1,256,831	-	$1,398,831	-
Average cost per QALY	na	na	$31,851	$8,674
Incremental cost per QALY	na	na	$124,562	-

Notes: Costs are expressed in 1996 US$. The average cost per case averted (the average cost-effectiveness ratio) compares each option to the alternative of no intervention, which has a program cost of $0 and results in 2.54 new HIV infections. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios compare the complete intervention to the option of offering only the condom use skills component. "Cost-saving" indicates that the averted HIV costs exceeded the cost of the intervention. We did not calculate cost-effectiveness ratios using QALYs when indirect HIV costs were included in the analysis, as the QALY measures to some degree incorporate these indirect costs.

ISSN: 1471-2334