A systematic review of economic evaluations of public health interventions targeting alcohol, tobacco, illicit drug use and problematic gambling: Using a case study to assess transferability

Abstract Background Physical inactivity and unhealthy dietary habits are associated with an increased disease and economic burden. Despite the prevalence of different public health programs, decision-makers encounter a multitude of challenges in prioritizing interventions for optimal resource allocation. The aim of this systematic review, therefore, was to identify economic evaluations of public health interventions targeting physical activity and healthy diet, and assess the quality and transferability of the findings to the Swedish context. Methods A search of published economic evaluations was conducted through electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, National Health Service Economic Evaluation Databases (NHS EED) and the Health Technology Assessment Database (HTA). An additional search was done using references of relevant systematic reviews and, websites of relevant organizations were checked to find grey literature. Quality and transferability of the economic evaluations were appraised using a quality assessment tool developed by the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment. Preliminary Results Thirty-two economic evaluations of 178 interventions were included; thirteen studies targeting physical activity, thirteen targeting healthy diet and six targeting both. The interventions varied in terms of their content, setting, mode of delivery and target populations. A majority of the economic evaluations reported that the interventions were likely to be cost-effective; however, considerable variations in the methodological and reporting qualities were observed. Only half of the economic evaluations were rated to have a high probability of transferring to the Swedish context. Conclusions Most of the interventions were reported to be cost-effective. However, a variation in quality and transferability of the available evidence to the Swedish context were observed. Key messages Public health interventions targeting physical activity and dietary habits have a high potential to be cost-effective. Decision makers should consider transferability and suitability of findings of economic evaluation from a different context to a decision problem at hand.

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A systematic review of economic evaluations of local authority commissioned preventative public health interventions in overweight and obesity, physical inactivity, alcohol and illicit drugs use and smoking cessation in the United Kingdom

Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/pubmed/fdy026 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. e521-e530 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Pam White ◽

Helen Skirrow ◽

Abraham George ◽

Anjum Memon

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Physical Inactivity ◽

Illicit Drugs ◽

Local Authority ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Economic Evaluations ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

The United Kingdom

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Prediction Models for Public Health Containment Measures on COVID-19 Using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: A Systematic Review

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18094499 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (9) ◽

pp. 4499

Author(s):

Anil Babu Payedimarri ◽

Diego Concina ◽

Luigi Portinale ◽

Massimo Canonico ◽

Deborah Seys ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Artificial Intelligence ◽

Machine Learning ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Public Transportation ◽

Prediction Models ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

Commercial Activities

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have expanded their utilization in different fields of medicine. During the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, AI and ML were also applied for the evaluation and/or implementation of public health interventions aimed to flatten the epidemiological curve. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of AI and ML when applied to public health interventions to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Our findings showed that quarantine should be the best strategy for containing COVID-19. Nationwide lockdown also showed positive impact, whereas social distancing should be considered to be effective only in combination with other interventions including the closure of schools and commercial activities and the limitation of public transportation. Our findings also showed that all the interventions should be initiated early in the pandemic and continued for a sustained period. Despite the study limitation, we concluded that AI and ML could be of help for policy makers to define the strategies for containing the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Establishing the Effectiveness of Public Health Interventions Using Sequential Meta-Analysis: Case Study Using Stair-Promotion Interventions

10.4135/9781529735192 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Adrian Bauman ◽

Karen Milton

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Public Health Interventions

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Health Technology Assessment of Public Health Interventions Published 2012 to 2016: An Analysis of Characteristics and Comparison of Methods

International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care ◽

10.1017/s0266462319000515 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (4) ◽

pp. 280-290 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stephanie Polus ◽

Tim Mathes ◽

Corinna Klingler ◽

Melanie Messer ◽

Ansgar Gerhardus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

A Priori ◽

Health Technology ◽

Legal Aspects ◽

Population Based ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Economic Evaluations ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

Comprehensive Overview ◽

Cultural Aspects

AbstractObjectivesThe aim of this study was to provide an overview of the methodological characteristics and compare the assessment methods applied in health technology assessments (HTAs) of public health interventions (PHIs).MethodsWe defined a PHI as a population-based intervention on health promotion or for primary prevention of chronic or nonchronic diseases. HTAs on PHIs were identified by systematically searching the Web pages of members of international HTA networks. We included only full HTA reports published between 2012 and 2016. Two reviewers extracted data on the methods used to assess effectiveness/safety, as well as on economic, social, cultural, ethical, and legal aspects using a-priori standardized tables.ResultsWe included ten HTAs provided by four different organizations. Of these, all reports assessed the effectiveness of the interventions and conducted economic evaluations, seven investigated social/cultural aspects, and four each considered legal and ethical aspects, respectively. Some reports addressed applicability, context/setting, and intervention fidelity issues in different ways. We found that most HTAs adapted their methods to some extent, for example, by including nonrandomized studies, expanding the search strategy, involving stakeholders, or applying a framework to guide the HTA process.ConclusionsOur analysis provides a comprehensive overview of methods applied in HTAs on public health interventions. We found that a heterogeneous set of approaches is used to deal with the challenges of evaluating complex public health interventions.

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The Economics of Infectious Diseases

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190625979.013.251 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Katharina Hauck

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Disease Transmission ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Health System Strengthening ◽

Economic Research ◽

Economic Evaluations ◽

Research Needs ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

The Impact

Economics can make immensely valuable contributions to our understanding of infectious disease transmission and the design of effective policy responses. The one unique characteristic of infectious diseases makes it also particularly complicated to analyze: the fact that it is transmitted from person to person. It explains why individuals’ behavior and externalities are a central topic for the economics of infectious diseases. Many public health interventions are built on the assumption that individuals are altruistic and consider the benefits and costs of their actions to others. This would imply that even infected individuals demand prevention, which stands in conflict with the economic theory of rational behavior. Empirical evidence is conflicting for infected individuals. For healthy individuals, evidence suggests that the demand for prevention is affected by real or perceived risk of infection. However, studies are plagued by underreporting of preventive behavior and non-random selection into testing. Some empirical studies have shown that the impact of prevention interventions could be far greater than one case prevented, resulting in significant externalities. Therefore, economic evaluations need to build on dynamic transmission models in order to correctly estimate these externalities. Future research needs are significant. Economic research needs to improve our understanding of the role of human behavior in disease transmission; support the better integration of economic and epidemiological modeling, evaluation of large-scale public health interventions with quasi-experimental methods, design of optimal subsidies for tackling the global threat of antimicrobial resistance, refocusing the research agenda toward underresearched diseases; and most importantly to assure that progress translates into saved lives on the ground by advising on effective health system strengthening.

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