Policy Hub
On 15 November 2005, the Centre for Health Economics, Monash University published a report (How to reduce the burden of harm from poor nutrition, tobacco smoking, physical inactivity and alcohol misuse: cost-utility analysis of 29 Interventions) which aims to determine which interventions are most effective and cost-effective, and thus able to make the greatest contribution to harm reduction for resources allocated.
This is a technical analysis. To the extent that health (reflected in mortality and quality of life), is the primary objective of health policy, identifying the most efficient means for its achievement can inform resource allocation decisions. While there are other potential objectives and other issues that might be relevant to policy decisions, it was decided not to attempt to incorporate other objectives, which has the effect of introducing a level of subjectivity into the analysis. Similarly such matters as ‘acceptability’ or ‘implementability’ are not only highly subjective but also highly dependent on the specific policy and practice and organisation environment at a point of time and place, and thus excluded from this technical analysis.
The full report can be viewed on the Centre for Health Economics website (pdf).