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Objective: Carers of people with cancer provide uncompensated care that is often physically, emotionally, and financially demanding, which results in neglect of their own health. This study's objective was to conduct an economic evaluation following a randomised control trial (RCT) involving a proactive telephone outcall intervention aimed at improving health outcomes among carers of cancer patients.Methods: The trial was a single-blind, multicentre, RCT conducted across four Australian health services, comprising three outcalls from trained Cancer Council 131120 (Cancer Council telephone and information support services) nurses compared with three phone call reminders of the availability of 131120 services (control group). Outcalls consisted of telephone contacts to the caregivers initiated by the Cancer Council nurses. The primary trial outcome was reduced carer burden. Health care resource use was measured using a resource use questionnaire (RUQ), and costs were presented in 2013 $(AUS). Quality-adjusted-life-years (QALYs) were also used as health outcomes. An incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated, with bootstrapping used to quantify sampling variability. A $50 000 per QALY-gained willingness-to-pay threshold was used. Sensitivity analyses were conducted.Results: Results showed that the total mean QALYs-gained were higher (0.02 QALYs, P = 0.01) in the control group, and total mean costs were lower in the control group ($477, P < 0.001) over the trial duration. The intervention group was dominated by the control group. Results were robust to sensitivity analyses.Conclusions: Results suggest policy makers should not adopt this intervention into routine health care in its current form. Further research into the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of telephone-based interventions for carers is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Exercise may reduce morbidity, increase survival, and improve quality of life (QoL) in prostate cancer patients. However, effective ways to encourage exercise outside carefully controlled clinical trials remain uncertain. We evaluated the effectiveness of peer-led self-management for increasing exercise participation in men with localized prostate cancer.Methods: Four hundred and sixty-three prostate cancer patients from Queensland, Australia were randomized to a monthly telephone-based group peer support for 6 months supported by self-management materials and exercise equipment (INT, n = 232) or usual care (UC, n = 231). Participants were assessed at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months. Primary outcomes were compliance with exercise guidelines; secondary outcomes were psychological distress and QoL.Results: Patients in INT engaged in more resistance exercise than UC at 3 months (19.4 [95% CI 6.52 to 32.28] min/wk, P = .003) and 6 months (14.6 [95% CI 1.69 to 27.58] min/wk, P = .027); more men achieved sufficient physical activity levels at 3 months (χ2  = 8.89, P = 0.003). There was no difference between groups for aerobic-based activity at any time point nor for resistance exercise time at 12-month follow-up. INT had higher QoL Relationships scores at 3 months (.03 [95% CI .00 to .06], P = .038) compared with UC. Limitation included self-reported assessment of exercise.Conclusions: Peer-led intervention was effective in increasing patients' resistance exercise participation in the short-to-medium term and in the number of men achieving sufficient activity levels in the short-term; however, this was not accompanied by overall improvements in QoL or psychological distress. Methods to increase effectiveness and maintain long-term adherence require further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]