I am trying understand the independent variables and dependent variables in this article

I copy and paste my articles below, just wondering if you can help me with this.

We developed a Markov model to estimate costs, effects, and cost-effectiveness for hospitalized HF patients and seen by a HF NP service compared with usual care at 12 months and 3 years. Costs and effects were taken from a retrospective observational cohort study. Transition probabilities and utilities were derived from published studies. A total of 500 patients were included (250 patients in the HF NP service vs. 250 patients in usual care). Average age was 77.7 11 years, and 54% were male. At 12 months, the HF NP group was cheaper and more effective compared with no HF NP [$23 031 vs. $25 111 (AUD), respectively; quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were 0.68 in HF NP group compared with 0.66 in usual care]. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio showed a savings of $109 474 per QALY gained at 12 months and a savings of $270 667 per QALY gained at 3 years in favour of the HF NP service.

Conclusion The HF NP service was cost-effective with lower costs and higher QALYs compared with no HF NP service. Economic evaluations alongside randomized controlled trials are warranted.

* Corresponding author. Tel: +61 1 3 9251 7212, Fax: +61 1 3 9244 6159, Email: a..l@deakin.edu.au The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing (2024) 23, 33-41 https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjcn/zvad036 ORIGINAL RESEARCH Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/eurjcn/article/23/