Cost-effectiveness calculators for health, well-being and safety promotion: a systematic review

Marja Hult, Olli Halminen, Miika Linna, Sakari Suominen, Mari Kangasniemi

Research output: Contribution to journalReview Articlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
49 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The health, well-being and safety of the general population are important goals for society, but forecasting outcomes and weighing up the costs and benefits of effective promotional programmes is challenging. This study aimed to identify and describe the cost-effectiveness calculators that analyze interventions that promote health, well-being and safety. METHODS: Our systematic review used the CINAHL, PsycINFO, SocINDEX, EconLit, PubMed and Scopus databases to identify peer-reviewed studies published in English between January 2010 and April 2020. The data were analyzed with narrative synthesis. RESULTS: The searches identified 6880 papers and nine met our eligibility and quality criteria. All nine calculators focussed on interventions that promoted health and well-being, but no safety promotion tools were identified. Five calculators were targeted at group-level initiatives, two at regional levels and two at national levels. The calculators combined different data sources, in addition to data inputted by users. This included empirical research and previous literature. The calculators created baseline estimates and assessed the cost-effectiveness of the interventions before or after they were implemented. The calculators were heterogeneous in terms of outcomes, the interventions they evaluated and the data and methods used. CONCLUSION: This review identified nine calculators that assessed the cost-effectiveness of health and well-being interventions and supported decision-making and resource allocations at local, regional and national levels, but none focussed on safety. Producing calculators that work accurately in different contexts might be challenging. Further research should identify how to assess sustainable evaluation of health, well-being and safety strategies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)997-1003
Number of pages7
JournalEuropean Journal of Public Health
Volume31
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 26 Oct 2021
MoE publication typeA2 Review article, Literature review, Systematic review

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Cost-effectiveness calculators for health, well-being and safety promotion: a systematic review'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this