Costs of the Smoking Cessation Program in Brazil

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To assess the costs of the Smoking Cessation Program in the Brazilian Unified Health System and estimate the cost of its full implementation in a Brazilian municipality.METHODS The intensive behavioral therapy and treatment for smoking cessation includes consultations, cognitive-behavioral group therapy sessions, and use of medicines. The costs of care and management of the program were estimated using micro-costing methods. The full implementation of the program in the municipality of Goiania, Goias was set as its expansion to meet the demand of all smokers motivated to quit in the municipality that would seek care at Brazilian Unified Health System. We considered direct medical and non-medical costs: human resources, medicines, consumables, general expenses, transport, travels, events, and capital costs. We included costs of federal, state, and municipal levels. The perspective of the analysis was that from the Brazilian Unified Health System. Sensitivity analysis was performed by varying parameters concerning the amount of activities and resources used. Data sources included a sample of primary care health units, municipal and state secretariats of health, and the Brazilian Ministry of Health. The costs were estimated in Brazilian Real (R$) for the year of 2010.RESULTS The cost of the program in Goiania was R$429,079, with 78.0% regarding behavioral therapy and treatment of smoking. The cost per patient was R$534, and, per quitter, R$1,435. The full implementation of the program in the municipality of Goiania would generate a cost of R$20.28 million to attend 35,323 smokers.CONCLUSIONS The Smoking Cessation Program has good performance in terms of cost per patient that quit smoking. In view of the burden of smoking in Brazil, the treatment for smoking cessation must be considered as a priority in allocating health resources.

Análise Da Cessação Do Tabagismo Durante E Após O Tratamento E Fatores Associados

“…Importante ressaltar que o tratamento para cessação do tabagismo tem um bom desempenho com relação ao custo para cada paciente que deixa de fumar. Dessa forma, considerando a magnitude da carga tabágica, o tratamento para cessação do tabagismo no Brasil deve ser considerado uma prioridade quando da alocação de recursos para saúde (Mendes et al, 2017).…”

Web-based decision-making tool for smoking cessation (Pare de fumar conosco) among patients with chronic conditions in Brazil : one-arm feasibility study

“…Participants who opted to set a quit date were invited to attend an in-person meeting at the healthcare centre to learn about the clinic’s smoking cessation programme. The programme consisted of free group-counselling sessions and free pharmacotherapy (nicotine replacement therapy or bupropion) if indicated (only for participants who smoked 10 or more cigarettes per day) 31. The sessions consisted of intense cognitive–behavioural therapy, which included behavioural skills training 31.…”

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: An Ally of the Unified Health System

“…Palavras-chave: Terapia Cognitivo-Comportamental; Saúde Pública; Sistema Único de Saúde; Financiamento Governamento. 95, que limitava os gastos públicos em saúde (Paim, 2018;Santos, 2018a;Mendes;Carnut & Guerra, 2018;Funcia, 2019;Menezes, Moretti & Reis, 2020). Obviamente os aspectos financeiros refletem na estruturação e efetivação das políticas públicas e nos serviços oferecidos aos usuários (Santos, 2018b;Melo, Almeida, Lima & Giovanella, 2020).…”

“…A psicoeducação, elemento característico na TCC, também pode ser usada como recurso no tratamento em grupo de dependentes químicos (outro grave problema de saúde pública), colaborando no entendimento do paciente sobre sua própria doença e na troca de experiências, contribuindo para a aderencia ao tratamento (Farina, Terroso, Lopes & Argimon, 2013). Mendes et al(2016), a partir de uma análise dos custos gerados por um programa de tratamento ao tabagista no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) que usufruia da 52 Am. In.…”