Using social return on investment analysis to calculate the social impact of modified vehicles for people with disability.
Claire Hutchinson, Angela Berndt, Jenny Cleland and 3 others
PMID 32017155WHAT IT FOUND
Vehicle modification cost scenarios, including modifications and professional services, produced positive estimated social returns for funders, consumers and co-investment.
The analysis tested low-cost and high-cost scenarios. These are valuation estimates, not proof of clinical benefit.
Key findings
01The analysis estimated positive social returns for funders, consumers and co-investment across five scenarios.
02Co-investment returned $17.32 for every $1 invested in scenario 1 and $2.78 in scenario 5.
03Removing social participation still left positive returns in scenario 5: $1.58 for funders, $7.34 for consumers and $1.34 for co-investment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only 8 consumers were interviewed, so the outcome weightings and valuations depend heavily on a small group and expert estimates. The social return on investment ratios are context specific and cannot be compared with other social return on investment studies. The analysis estimates costs and outcomes for a type of intervention, not a specific vehicle modification programme or patient group. The five scenarios will not cover all vehicle modifications, and costs may change over time. There are no public Australian data on how many people use vehicle modifications or what types they use, so the analysis uses survey data to weight outcomes. The consumers had a bias toward independent driving, which affected outcomes and assumptions. Deadweight, attribution, weightings and financial proxies are estimates agreed by the research team and advisory group, not measured clinical outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors report no declarations of interest. The research was funded by the Lifetime Support Authority, State Government of South Australia.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the $135.01 return for every $1 invested as proof that vehicle modification packages improve health, function or participation. It is an estimated social value from a small social return on investment analysis, and the ratios are context specific and not generalisable.