Cost-benefit analysis of accommodation spasm prevention programs for schoolchildren

Annotation. The relevance of the study is due to the prevalence of accommodation spasm in schoolchildren and the uncertainty regarding the clinical and economic effectiveness of prevention programs. The aim of the study was to develop a new approach to cost-benefit analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of programs for the prevention of spasm accommodation in schoolchildren. The proposed methodology is based on the economic theory of moral hazard and included analytical optimization with the derivation of the equilibrium model. The data are organized into a dynamic sample of schoolchildren with a panel design with replenishment with first-graders during 2012–2015, followed by observation until 2017 with sample size of 1115. It has been established that from a cost-benefit perspective, additional measures of an expanded prevention program, aimed primarily at improving compliance and improving the management of a standard program, provide a net profit in 42.45% of students (430 out of 1013). It has been established that the benefits of an expanded program increase in terms of cost-benefit compared to the existing one: in the schoolchildren with tonsillitis, burdened heredity, daily continuous computer work for more than 2 hours, the presence of stressful situations, a history of eclipses in the eyes. To evaluate preventive programs, future gains should be considered, since this problem is even more clearly related to the prevention of myopia. This will lead to greater efficiency of the expanded program due to better clinical efficacy (not shown in the article).