Prevention Effectiveness : A Guide to Decision Analysis and Economic Evaluation

Given with clear, systematic direction, the methods discussed in this book are an important first step in providing a rigorous, standardized approach to assessing the effectiveness and economic impact of public health prevention interventions. Developed from a course given at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Guide was reviewed by a panel of nationally-recognized experts in public health, decision analysis and economic analysis. It gives how-to explanations of study design, decision analysis, measures of effectiveness, and measures of cost, including cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and cost-utility analysis. Appendices contain a variety of useful material including an account of illustrative case studies in decision analysis and economic analysis, numerous data tables and indices, and a discussion of attribution. In addition to providing systematic methodology, the book makes specific recommendations on standardizing methods for discount rates, study perspective, willingness-to-pay measures, analytic horizon and more. Decision-makers at the national, state and local levels will find this book very helpful in building on traditional areas of biomedical science, epidemiology, and statistics. Public health administrators and managers facing constrained budgets and an increasing demand for accountability will find its practical approach and wealth of public health applications invaluable. Public health decision-making will continue to be a complex mixture of science, politics, and economics, however, the sound technical information provided in this guidebook woll help ground decisions in the public health system in accurate cost estimates and as well as solid science.