title: Cost-effectiveness of interventions for reducing road traffic injuries related to driving under the influence of alcohol.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the cost-effectiveness of interventions to reduce road traffic injuries caused by driving under the influence of alcohol in Thailand.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used generalized cost-effectiveness analysis and included costs from a health sector perspective. The model considered road traffic crash victims who were injured, disabled, or died. We obtained proportions of alcohol-related crashes from the Thai Injury Surveillance system. Intervention effectiveness was derived from published reviews and a study in one province of Thailand. Random breath testing, selective breath testing, and mass media campaigns, both current and intervention scenarios, were compared with a "do-nothing" scenario. We calculated intervention costs and cost offsets of prevented treatment costs in 2004 Thai baht (US $1 = 41 baht) and measured benefits in terms of disability-adjusted life-years averted. Interventions with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios below 110,000 Thai baht (1×gross domestic product per capita) per disability-adjusted life-year (US $2,680) were considered very cost-effective.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with doing nothing, mass media campaigns, random breath testing, and selective breath testing are all cost saving. When averted treatment costs are ignored and only intervention costs are included, all three interventions are very cost-effective, with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of 10,300, 14,300 and 13,000 baht/disability-adjusted life-year, respectively. The current mix of mass media campaigns and sobriety checkpoints is therefore also cost-effective, but underinvestment in checkpoints limits its overall effect.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A greater intensity of conducting sobriety checkpoints in Thailand is recommended to complement the investment in mass media campaigns. Together these interventions have the potential to reduce the burden of alcohol-related road traffic injuries by 24%.
authors: Faculty of Health and Sports Science, Thaksin University, Phatthalung Province, Thailand. vallop.ditsuwan@uqconnect.edu.au
authors: Vallop
authors: V
authors: Ditsuwan
authors: Jacob
authors: J
authors: Lennert Veerman
authors: Melanie
authors: M
authors: Bertram
authors: Theo
authors: T
authors: Vos
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000150:complications* / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control; D001334:Automobile Driving; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000379:methods; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017046:Cost Savings; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media / Q000191:economics; D008875:Middle Aged; D018803:Models, Economic; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult