Cost-effectiveness analysis methods for the REACT study

The Reconditioning Exercise and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Trial (REACT) is a two-arm randomized clinical trial designed to compare short-t erm versus long-term exercise intervention in terms of physical function, a cute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, health-related quality of life, and cost-effectiveness. Clinical trials such as REACT are now routinely paired with economic analyses, and nurses can expect to play a growing role in the conduct of these studies. This article describes a mo del that is useful for structuring economic evaluations of health care inte rventions, and illustrates a cost-effectiveness analysis that is being cond ucted in conjunction with the REACT study. An in-depth description of colle ction methods and procedures is provided as well as a summary of recruitmen t and retention experience to date.