Return on investment (ROI) modelling in public health: strengths and limitations.
Submitted by admin on Tue, 08/21/2018 - 17:39
Author(s):
Pokhrel, S.
Year Published:
2015
Journal:
European Journal of Public Health
Categories:
Link to Abstract Summary:
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Abstract:
Public Health is (ROI): Save Lives, Save Money, was a theme of 2013 national public health campaign in USA. 1 Public health has traditionally been regarded as an economic good with mostly preventive attributes. Benefits from consuming such goods usually accrue in the distant future and are large. However, an up-front cost is required to produce this good, which individuals are not willing to pay for, making this an excellent example of market failure. Governmental provision therefore is seen to be an acceptable policy intervention to correct those inefficiencies. The austerity climate triggered by the 2008 economic crisis, coupled with increasing emphasis on value for money as one of the decision criteria in other competing clinical areas in healthcare, has increasingly led policymakers to seek expected ROI of their investment decisions. As departmental budget cuts suddenly became a likely event post-2008,disinvestment from existing services appeared to be very attractive policy options to decision makers. Public health community needed to respond to this changing decision climate. The US catchphrasePublic Health is ROIbecame highly relevant, if not more, in other countries where health systems are predominantly a publicly funded affair. However, how much hard data do we have on the ROI of public health and is that enough to convince our decision makers?