Cost-benefit analysis of interpersonal therapy and fluoxetine for treating depression and PTSD in primary care settings in Kenya.
Olwanda Easter E, Mwai Daniel D, Mathai Muthoni A MA, Burger Rachel L RL et al.
Kenya faces a significant mental health crisis, with 1.9 million reported cases of depression and 10.6% prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The economic burden of mental health conditions was 62.2 billion Kenyan shillings in 2021, accounting for 0.6% of GDP. This study performed a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) and fluoxetine (FLX) for treating depression and PTSD in a primary care setting. The SMART-DAPPER project in western Kenya (Kisumu County Referral Hospital) employed a Sequential, Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial design to train non-specialist providers in administering IPT and FLX for adult depression and PTSD. No standard-of-care arm was used. A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) compared intervention costs with income gains from increased productivity, using micro-costing for treatment expenses and the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study to assess productivity. The benefit-cost ratio was calculated over one and ten years with annual relapse rates of 10%, 25%, and 50%. All currency measurements were in KES, converted to USD rate of 118.02 KES per USD. The study enrolled 1,918 participants: 986 received IPT and 932 received FLX. Remission was achieved after the first round of therapy by 782 (79.3%) and 798 (85.6%), respectively. IPT averaged 11.5 sessions of 60 min, costing in total 5,050 KES (USD42.79); FLX averaged 5.3 sessions of 20 min, costing 2,511 KES (USD 21.28), including the medication. Both treatments increased income, with IPT participants gaining 16,242 KES (137.62 USD) and FLX participants 13,239 KES (112.18 USD) in the first year. Benefit-cost ratios were 3.2:1 for IPT and 5.3:1 for FLX. Over ten years, FLX showed higher CBA ratios (10 to 31:1) than IPT (6 to 18:1). This study found productivity gains greater than primary care-based treatment costs for IPT and FLX for depression and PTSD in Kenya. FLX demonstrated a more favorable benefit-to-cost ratio. Future research should address the capacity of government health care to sustain delivery of psychological and pharmacological therapy.