Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Future Public Health pp 248–264Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

What Use Has Been Made of Economic Evaluation in Public Health? A Systematic Review of the Literature

  • Chapter

Abstract

The last 15 years have seen a dramatic increase in both the volume and quality of economic evaluations of health care interventions (Elixhauser et al., 1998; Sassi et al., 2002). The demand for evidence on the cost-effectiveness of such interventions has grown, with many countries now having formal or semiformal mechanisms, such as the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in England and Wales or the Scottish Medicines Consortium, to feed such information into the policymaking process in the UK.

This study was commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government Health Promotion Division as part of their Wanless Health Economics Research Programme. The views expressed in this chapter are those of the authors alone and not the Welsh Assembly Government.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • S. Allin, E. Mossialos, M. McKee and W. Holland, Making Decisions on Public Health: A Review of Eight Countries (Copenhagen: World Health Organization, 2004).

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Anderson and B. Baumberg, Alcohol in Europe (London: Institute of Alcohol Studies, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Baker, C. Thompson and R. Mannion, ‘Q methodology in health economics’, Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, 11: 1 (2006) 38–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BBC News Online, Hewitt asks for alcohol tax rise (London: BBC, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  • X. Berrios, P. Bedregal and B. Guzman, ‘Costo-efectividad de la promocion de la salud en Chile: Experiencia del programa “Mirame”! [Cost-effectiveness of health promotion in Chile: Experience with the “Mirame!” programme]’, Revista Medica Chile, 132: 3 (2004) 361–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • P. A. Briss, R. C. Brownson, J. E. Fielding and S. Zaza, ‘Developing and using the guide to community preventive services: lessons learned about evidence-based public health’, Annual Review of Public Health, 25 (2004) 281–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • P. A. Briss, S. Zaza, M. Pappaioanou, J. Fielding, L. Wright-De Aguero, B. I. Truman, D. P. Hopkins, P. D. Mullen, R. S. Thompson, S. H. Woolf, V. G. Carande-Kulis, L. Anderson, A. R. Hinman, D. V. McQueen, S. M. Teutsch and J. R. Harris, ‘Developing an evidence-based guide to community preventive services–methods: The task force on community preventive services’, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 18: S1 (2000) 35–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. Burrows, R. Bunton, S. Muncer and K. Gillen, ‘The efficacy of health promotion, health economics and late modernism’, Health Education Research, 10: 2 (1995) 241–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, Undertaking Systematic Reviews of Research on Effectiveness: CRD Report No 4’ (York: NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, 2001).

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Chatterji, C. M. Caffray, M. Crowe, L. Freeman and P. Jensen, ‘Cost assessment of a school-based mental health screening and treatment program in New York City’, Mental Health Services Research, 6: 3 (2004) 155–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. Chisholm, J. Rehm, M. Van Ommeren and M. Monteiro, ‘Reducing the global burden of hazardous alcohol use: a comparative cost-effectiveness analysis’, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 65 (2004) 782–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. Connell and A. Kubisch, ‘Applying a theory of change approach to the evaluation of comprehensive community initiatives: progress, prospects and problems’, in K. Fulbright-Anderson, A. Kubisch and J. Connell (eds), New approaches to evaluating community initiatives, Volume 2: theory, measurement, and analysis (Washington DC: The Aspen Institute, 1998), accessed 21 January 2008 at http://www.aspeninstitute.org/site/c.huLWJeMRKpH/b.613709/k.B547/Applying_a_Theory_of_Change_Approach_to_the_Evaluation_of_Comprehensive_Community_Initiatives_Progress_Prospects_and_Problems.htm

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Cookson, ‘Willingness to pay methods in health care: a sceptical view’, Health Economics, 12: 11 (2003) 891–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. de Castro, F. Newman, G. Mills and N. Sari, ‘Economic evaluation of suicide prevention programs for young adults in Florida’, Business Review Cambridge, 3: 1 (2004) 14–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Health, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: A New Direction for Community Services (Norwich: HM Stationary Office, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  • C. S. Dewa, D. McDaid and S. L. Ettner, ‘An international perspective on worker mental health problems: who bears the burden and how are costs addressed?’, Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 52 (2007), 346–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Drummond, B. O’Brien, G. Stoddart and G. Torrance, Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programmes (Oxford: Oxford Medical Publications, 1997).

    Google Scholar 

  • J. P. Elder, M. Wildey, C. de Moor, J. F. Sallis, Jr, L. Eckhardt, C. Edwards, A. Erickson, A. Golbeck, M. Hovell and D. Johnston ‘The long-term prevention of tobacco use among junior high school students: classroom and telephone interventions’, American Journal of Public Health, 83: 9 (1993) 1239–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Elixhauser, M. Halpern, J. Schmier, B. R. Luce, ‘Health care CBA and CEA from 1991 to 1996: an updated bibliography’, Medical Care, 36:5, S1 (1998) MS1–MS9.

    Google Scholar 

  • D. B. Evans, T. T. Edejer, T. Adam and S. S. Lim, ‘Methods to assess the costs and health effects of interventions for improving health in developing countries’, British Medical Journal, 331: 7525 (2005) 1137–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. Fordham, ‘Towards investment in public health: the emergence of a burden of economic proof’, this volume.

    Google Scholar 

  • V. Fuchs, ‘Setting priorities in health education and promotion’, Health Affairs, 2: 4 (1983) 56–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • T. G. Ganiats, ‘Prevention, policy, and paradox: what is the value of future health?’, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 13: 1 (1997) 12–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Gaynes, S. West, C. Ford, P. Frame, J. Klein and K. N. Lohr, Screening for Suicide Risk: A Systematic Evidence Review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (Rockville, Maryland: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2004).

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Godfrey, ‘Economic evaluation of health promotion’, WHO Reg Publ Eur Ser, 92 (2001) 149–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Hale, ‘What contribution can health economics make to health promotion?’, Health Promotion International, 15: 4 (2000) 341–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. Hale, D. Cohen, A. Ludbrook, C. Phillips, M. Duffy and N. Parry-Langdon, Moving from Evaluation into Economic Evaluation: A Health Economics Manual for Programmes to Improve Health and Well-being (Cardiff: National Assembly for Wales, 2005).

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Hawe, A. Shiell, T. Riley and L. Gold, ‘Methods for exploring implementation variation and local context within a cluster randomised community intervention trial’, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 58 (2004) 788–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. Hills, E. Elliot, U. Kowarzik, F. Sullivan, E. Stern, S. Platt, L. Boydell, J. Popay, G. Williams, M. Petticrew, E. McGregor, S. Russell, E. Wilkinson, J. Rugkasa, M. Gibson and D. McDaid, The evaluation of the Big Lottery Fund Healthy Living Centres Programme (London: Big Lottery Fund, 2007).

    Google Scholar 

  • W. Holland, ‘Health technology assessment and public health: a commentary’, International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, 20: 1 (2004) 77–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • B. J. Hubbell, Implementing QALYs in the Analysis of Air Pollution Regulations (Washington DC: US Environment Protection Agency, 2002).

    Google Scholar 

  • D. J. Hunter, Desperately Seeking Solutions: Rationing Health Care (London: Longman, 1997).

    Google Scholar 

  • N. Jackson and E. Waters, ‘The challenges of systematically reviewing public health interventions’, Journal of Public Health Medicine, 26: 3 (2004) 303–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. Jan, ‘A holistic approach to the economic evaluation of health programs using institutionalist methodology’, Social Science & Medicine, 47: 10 (1998) 1565–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. Jan, S. Conaty, R. Hecker, M. Bartlett, S. Delaney and T. Capon, ‘A holistic economic evaluation of an Aboriginal community-controlled midwifery programme in Western Sydney’, Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, 9: 1 (2004) 14–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. P. Kelly, ‘Public health guidance and the role of new NICE’, Public Health, 119 (2005) 960–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. P. Kelly, D. McDaid, A. Ludbrook and J. Powell, Economic Appraisal of Public Health Interventions (London: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, 2005).

    Google Scholar 

  • H. H. Konig and J. C. Barry, ‘Cost-utility analysis of orthoptic screening in kindergarten: a Markov model based on data from Germany’, Pediatrics, 113: 2 (2004) e95–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • E. Lancsar and C. Donaldson, ‘Discrete choice experiments in health economics’, European Journal of Health Economics, 6: 4 (2005) 314–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Lowin, J. Slater, J. Hall and G. Alperstein, ‘Cost-effectiveness analysis of school based Mantoux screening for TB infection’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 24: 3 (2000) 247–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. Mandelblatt, S. Saha, S. Teutsch, T. Hoerger, A. Siu, D. Atkins, J. Klein and M. Helfand, ‘The cost-effectiveness of screening mammography beyond age 65 years: a systematic review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’, Annals of Internal Medicine, 139: 10 (2003) 835–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. McDaid, C. Curran and M. Knapp, ‘Promoting mental well-being in the workplace: a European policy perspective’, International Review of Psychiatry, 17: 5 (2005) 365–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. McDaid and J. Needle, Economic Evaluation and Public Health: Mapping the Literature (Cardiff: Health Promotion Division, Welsh Assembly Government, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Michie and S. Williams, ‘Reducing work related psychological ill health and sickness absence: a systematic literature review’, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 60 (2003) 3–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • G. W. Noblitt and D. R. Hare, Meta-ethnography: Synthesizing Qualitative Studies (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1988).

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Nolte and M. McKee, ‘Measuring the health of nations: analysis of mortality amenable to health care’, British Medical Journal, 327: 7424 (2003) 1129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • K. R. Pelletier, ‘A review and analysis of the health and cost-effective outcome studies of comprehensive health promotion and disease prevention programs’, American Journal of Health Promotion, 5: 4 (1991) 311–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • K. R. Pelletier, ‘A review and analysis of the clinical- and cost-effectiveness studies of comprehensive health promotion and disease management programs at the worksite: 1998–2000 update’, American Journal of Health Promotion, 16: 2 (2001) 107–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • K. R. Pelletier, ‘International collaboration in health promotion and disease management: implications of US health promotion efforts on Japan’s health care system’, American Journal of Health Promotion, 19: 3 (2005a) 216–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • K. R. Pelletier, ‘A review and analysis of the clinical and cost-effectiveness studies of comprehensive health promotion and disease management programs at the worksite: Update VI 2000–2004’, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 47: 10 (2005b) 1051–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. Petticrew and H. Roberts, Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005).

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Platt, E. Halliday, M. Maxwell, A. McCollam, J. McLean, A. Woodhouse, A. Blamey, M. Mackenzie and D. McDaid, Evaluation of the First Phase of Choose Life. Final Report (Edinburgh: Scottish Executive, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Powell, J. Glanville and L. Mather, Indexing of Databases Relevant to Public Health (London: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, 2004).

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Richardson, ‘Economic evaluation of health promotion: friend or foe?’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 22: 2 (1998) 247–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. Roberts (ed.), The Economics of Infectious Diseases (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Rush, A. Shiell and P. Hawe, ‘A census of economic evaluations in health promotion’, Health Education Research, 19: 6 (2004) 707–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. Ryan, A. Bate, C. J. Eastmond and A. Ludbrook, ‘Use of discrete choice experiments to elicit preferences’, Quality and Safety in Health Care, 10: S1 (2001) i55–i60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • L. Rychetnik, M. Frommer, P. Hawe and A. Shiell, ‘Criteria for evaluating evidence on public health interventions’, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 56: 2 (2002) 119–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • F. Sassi, L. Archard and D. McDaid, ‘Searching literature databases for health care economic evaluations: how systematic can we afford to be?’, Medical Care, 40: 5 (2002) 387–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • T. A. Sheldon, ‘Discounting in health care decision-making: time for a change?’, Journal of Public Health Medicine, 14: 3 (1992) 250–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Shiell and P. Hawe, ‘Health promotion community development and the tyranny of individualism’, Health Economics, 5: 3 (1996) 241–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. D. Shipp, ‘Potential human and economic cost-savings attributable to vision testing policies for driver license renewal, 1989–1991’, Optometry and Vision Science, 75: 2 (1998) 103–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • T. Stahl, M. Wismar, E. Ollila, E. Lahtinen and K. Leppo (eds), Health in All Policies: Prospects and Potentials (Helsinki: Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Y. Wang, G. R. Burstein and D. A. Cohen, ‘An economic evaluation of a school-based sexually transmitted disease screening program’, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 29: 1 (2002) 737–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • L. Y. Wang, Q. Yang, R. Lowry and H. Wechsler, ‘Economic analysis of a school-based obesity prevention program’, Obesity Research, 11: 11 (2003) 1313–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. Wanless, Securing Good Health for the Whole Population (Norwich: HM Stationary Office, 2004).

    Google Scholar 

  • Winterthurer Institut fur Gesundheitssokonomie, Ökonomische Beurteilung von Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention (Winterthurer: Winterthurer Institut, 2004).

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Zaloshnja, T. R. Miller, M. S. Galbraith, B. A. Lawrence, L. M. DeBruyn, N. Bill, K. R. Hicks, M. Keiffer and R. Perkins, ‘Reducing injuries among Native Americans: five cost-outcome analyses’, Accident Analysis and Prevention, 35: 5 (2003) 631–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. David McDaid
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Justin Needle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK

    Sandra Dawson DBE, D.Sc (Hon), MFPHM, BA (KPMG Professor of Management) (KPMG Professor of Management)

  2. Engineering Department, University of Cambridge, UK

    Zoë Slote Morris PhD (Senior Research Associate) (Senior Research Associate)

Copyright information

© 2009 David McDaid and Justin Needle

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

McDaid, D., Needle, J. (2009). What Use Has Been Made of Economic Evaluation in Public Health? A Systematic Review of the Literature. In: Dawson, S., Morris, Z.S. (eds) Future Public Health. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230582545_13

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation