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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Psychiatry

Sec. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Rehabilitation

This article is part of the Research TopicBridging the Gap: Addressing Substance Use Disorder Treatments among Vulnerable PopulationsView all 6 articles

Micro-costing analysis of a community-based psychiatric intervention among people who inject drugs in Haiphong, Vietnam

Provisionally accepted
Philippe TrouillerPhilippe Trouiller1,2*Sao Mai LeSao Mai Le3Giang Hoang ThiGiang Hoang Thi3Huong DuongHuong Duong3Oanh Khuat Thi HaiOanh Khuat Thi Hai4Tuyet Thanh Nham ThiTuyet Thanh Nham Thi4Jean-Pierre MolèsJean-Pierre Molès5Didier LaureillardDidier Laureillard5Don Des JarlaisDon Des Jarlais6Nicolas NagotNicolas Nagot5Laurent MichelLaurent Michel1,2Nathalie Pelletier-FleuryNathalie Pelletier-Fleury7*
  • 1Center for research in epidemiology and population health, Inserm UMR 1018, Paris Saclay University, Paris, France
  • 2Centre de Soins d'Accompagnement et de Prevention en Addictologie Pierre Nicole, Paris, France
  • 3Hai Phong University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hai Phong, Vietnam
  • 4Supporting Community Development Initiatives, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • 5Pathogenesis and Control of Chronic and Emerging Infections, Montpellier, France
  • 6New York University School of Global Public Health, New York, United States
  • 7Center for research in epidemiology and population health, Inserm UMR 1018, Paris Saclay University, Villejuif, Vietnam

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Introduction. Community-based interventions and peer-support have been shown to improve health outcomes and are increasingly promoted in mental health care. To guide further policy makers, we aimed to estimate, from a societal perspective, the cost of a community based psychiatric intervention for people who inject drugs (PWID). Methods. From March 2022 to May 2022 in Hai Phong, Vietnam, PWID currently or previously diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder were recruited in a 12 months follow-up cohort and received psychiatric and harm-reduction services supported by peers (Drive-Mind 2 cohort study, NCT05886504). Using a micro-costing approach, we estimated the annual per-participant cost for screening PWID for psychiatric disorders, and for providing them for follow-up care and medicine. Findings. All 563 participants who were enrolled in Drive-Mind-2 were screened for psychiatric disorder, and 185 of them were included in a psychiatric follow-up. The total cost of the psychiatric intervention was estimated at $88.7 per participant per year. Recurring goods and services represented 44% of total costs (including medication and transport allowance) and human resources represented 37%. The cost of one screening visit was estimated at $9.8 per participant. Conclusions. Costs for a community-based psychiatric intervention were very low in our study. This data can be used by policy makers in Vietnam to improve a mental health system that is poorly developed and expensive for the patient. Funding. The DRIVE-Mind 2 project was funded by an ANRS Grant (ANRS0041s) and its parent DRIVE cohort was funded by a US NIH Grant (5R01DA041978-06

Keywords: Mental Health, People who inject drugs, Community-based intervention, Micro-costing, peers

Received: 30 Sep 2025; Accepted: 04 Nov 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Trouiller, Le, Thi, Duong, Thi Hai, Thi, Molès, Laureillard, Des Jarlais, Nagot, Michel and Pelletier-Fleury. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Philippe Trouiller, philippe.trouiller@gmail.com
Nathalie Pelletier-Fleury, nathalie.pelletier-fleury@inserm.fr

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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