Costing Resource Use of the Namaste Care Intervention UK: A Novel Framework For Costing Dementia Care Interventions in Care Homes

Objectives:
To develop a representative full cost model for a UK version of the multi-component, non-pharmacological Namaste Care intervention for care home residents with advanced dementia.

Design:
The Namaste Care Intervention UK comprises multiple individual cost components, and a comprehensive list of all possible resources that could be expended in each cost component formed the initial stage of the cost model development. Resource use was divided into three key areas: staff, capital and consumables. Representative costs were identified for each of the possible resources, with a standard approach being used for all resources within each of the three key areas. Assumptions were made regarding the number and duration of sessions, group size, involvement of different staff members, and additional activity before and after a session, as these all have an impact on resource use and hence cost. A comparable ‘usual care’ session for residents not receiving Namaste Care was also costed to enable the ‘additional’ cost of delivering Namaste Care to be calculated.

Results:
The full cost model indicates that Namaste Care Intervention UK costs approximately £8-£10 more per resident per 2-hour session than a comparable period of usual care. However, positive impacts on resident and staff well-being resulting from receiving Namaste Care will also have their own associated costs/benefits which may negate the ‘additional’ cost of the intervention.

Conclusions:
The cost model provides the first opportunity to investigate the full costs associated with Namaste Care, and will be refined as additional information is captured during subsequent phases of the research.