Cost-Effectiveness of Peer-Delivered Interventions for Cocaine and Alcohol Abuse among Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Jennifer Prah Ruger, Arbi Ben Abdallah, Craig Luekens, Linda Cottler
Over 9% of the total US population (23.1 million aged 12 or older) was in need of treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem in 2008 [1]. Among females, the percentage of illicit drug users rose from 5.8% in 2007 to 6.8% in 2010; the number of users increased from 10.4% to 11.2% over the same period among males [1,2]. Alcohol and illicit drug use were the third and ninth leading causes of preventable death in 2000, associated with 85,000 and 17,000 deaths, respectively [3]. Moreover, the economic costs of drug abuse in the US have increased 5.3% annually from 1992 to 2002, reaching a total of $180.9 billion, $16 billion of which were health-related [4]. Despite this rise in the costs of substance abuse, health care spending on substance abuse only rose 4.1% annually, whereas total health care spending rose by 6.5%. pone.0033594.pdf