Video cognitive‐behavioral therapy for insomnia in cancer patients: A cost‐effective alternative

Objective Despite its high prevalence, cancer‐related insomnia typically remains untreated because of a lack of access to cognitive‐behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT‐I), the treatment of choice for this condition. While face‐to‐face CBT‐I appears to be optimal in terms of efficacy, self‐administered formats may be more cost‐effective. The goal of this secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial was to compare the cost‐effectiveness of a professionally‐based CBT‐I (PCBT‐I) to that of a video‐based CBT‐I (VCBT‐I). Methods A total of 161 women with breast cancer received six weekly, individual CBT‐I sessions (PCBT‐I; n = 81) or a 60‐minutes animated video +6 short booklets (VCBT‐I; n = 80). Participants completed the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and provided information to calculate treatment costs. Results Total per patient treatment costs were 5.5 times greater for PCBT‐I ($1298.90) than VCBT‐I ($234.36; P