Cost-effectiveness analyses of health promotion programs: a case study of smoking prevention and cessation among
S M C Vijgen1, P H M van Baal, R T Hoogenveen
1Centre for Prevention.ealth Services Research, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, 3720 BA Bilthoven, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
Little research has been done to connect health promotion programs to outcomes in terms of life expectancy, health care costs and cost-effectiveness. For a policy maker, economic evaluation may be an important tool to support decisions on how to allocate the health care budget. The aim of this paper was to determine the cost-effectiveness of a Dutch school-based smoking education program. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of the school program was estimated at euro19 900 per quality adjusted life year gained. For a complete analysis, not only intervention costs but also savings for smoking-related diseases and differences in total health care costs should be taken into account. As several assumptions had to be made in order to estimate cost-effectiveness, the study outcomes should be interpreted with caution. Main problem in estimating the cost-effectiveness was the lack of proper effectiveness data on daily smokers among adolescents. Absence of specific effectiveness data often is an obstacle in the economic evaluation of public health interventions. While some problems may be the result of insufficient sample size or follow-up, another possible explanation might be the different basic principles of analysis of health promoters and economists.
Related Concept Videos
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results from...
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention I
The health belief model (HBM) attempts to predict health-related behavior in specific belief patterns. According to the HBM, a person's...
Statistical Methods for Analyzing Epidemiological Data
Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
Lifestyle Factors and Health
Benefits of Physical Activity
Physical activity, whether through structured exercise or casual activities like walking, biking, or dancing, is a cornerstone of a...
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques IV

