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Ontario’s community-based HIV prevention efforts save $6.5 billion
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Every dollar spent on community-based HIV prevention initiatives could lead to a savings of $5 in treatment costs and already has saved approximately $6.5 billion during a 25-year span in Ontario, according to recent data.
“This is important information for health planners and policy decision makers trying to determine whether allocating scarce resources to these programs is good value for money,” Sean B. Rourke, PhD, of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, said in a press release.
To determine the monetary benefits of prevention programs, Rourke and colleagues used Ontario HIV surveillance reports from 1987 to 2011 to estimate HIV transmission rates in the province. Lifetime HIV treatment costs in Canada were determined using previously published data, and information on expenditures of community-based HIV prevention programs were collected from local budgets. The researchers estimated the number of HIV cases prevented, and the resultant estimated savings to the Ontario health care system. They then calculated an estimated financial return-on-investment ratio for Ontario’s contributions toward the community-based programs between 2005 and 2011.
Rourke and colleagues found that during the 25-year study period, community-based initiatives in the province of Ontario prevented 16,672 HIV infections, resulting in an approximate $6.5 billion Canadian in savings (range, $4.8 billion-$7.5 billion). Moreover, they found that between 2005 and 2011, every $1 invested in prevention efforts saved approximately $5 in treatment costs to Ontario’s health care system.
These findings may be useful to health care policymakers in the United States, the researchers wrote, where the estimated lifetime cost of HIV for one patient ranges from $253,000 to $402,000.
“Given that an effective vaccine for HIV is not yet available and that the HIV epidemic is far from over, continued investments in a combination of effective and evidence-based programs is essential,” Rourke said in the release. – by Jen Byrne
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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