Modelling the comparative costs of Namaste Care: results from the namaste care intervention UK study

Modelling the comparative costs of Namaste Care: results from the namaste care intervention UK study

Jennifer Bray, Dawn Brooker, Isabelle Latham, Darrin Baines
Working with Older People, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp.131-140

The purpose of this paper is to populate a theoretical cost model with real-world data, calculating staffing, resource and consumable costs of delivering Namaste Care Intervention UK (NCI-UK) sessions versus “usual care” for care home residents with advanced dementia.
Data from five care homes delivering NCI-UK sessions populated the cost model to generate session- and resident-level costs. Comparator usual care costs were calculated based on expert opinion and observational data. Outcome data for residents assessed the impact of NCI-UK sessions and aligned with the resident-level costs of NCI-UK.
NCI-UK had a positive impact on residents’ physical, social and emotional well-being. An average NCI-UK group session cost £220.53, 22% more than usual care, and ran for 1.5–2 h per day for 4–9 residents. No additional staff were employed to deliver NCI-UK, but staff-resident ratios were higher during Namaste Care. Usual care costs were calculated for the same time period when no group activity was organised. The average cost per resident, per NCI-UK session was £38.01, £7.24 more than usual care. In reality, costs were offset by consumables and resources being available from stock within a home.
Activity costs are...

Source: Working with Older People - February 22, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Jennifer Bray Dawn Brooker Isabelle Latham Darrin Baines Source Type: research