Cost-benefit analysis of home visiting to reduce infant mortality among preterm infants

Purpose: The Following Baby Back Home (FBBH) visiting program, which is provided by nurse and social worker teams, supports families of low-birthweight preterm infants after discharge from a neonatal intensive care unit. Enrollment in the FBBH program has been documented to reduce the likelihood of infant death. In this study, we conducted a cost-benefit analysis of the FBBH program. Design and methods: Infants enrolled in the FBBH program (N = 416) were identified through administrative records. Infants in the FBBH program were propensity score matched with comparison infants to estimate the dif-ference in healthcare costs in the first year of life. Results: Infants enrolled in the FBBH program incurred similar medical care costs compared to a comparison group. Avoided deaths, program costs, healthcare costs resulted in net economic benefits of the FBBH program to avoid infant death estimate at $83,020, cost per life saved at $3080, and benefit-to-cost ratio at 27.95. Conclusions: The FBBH program's net economic benefits from avoided deaths suggest a substantial return on investment of resources, yielding benefits in excess of program and healthcare costs. Practice implications: It is economically beneficial to provide home visiting services to families of low-birthweight babies by a team comprised of a registered nurse and social worker.(c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.