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Prevention

Prevention

Preventive strategies, including health-promoting behaviours, early interventions, and coordinated efforts, can improve individual well-being, reduce the burden of disease, and lower societal costs.

IHE can provide various types of health economic evidence to support evidence-based decision-making in prevention.

Cost-of-illness studies

Cost-of-illness (COI) studies provide important evidence for improving our understanding of the burden associated with different diseases and demonstrating the value of prevention. Examples of studies to which IHE has contributed include:

Links between risk factors and disease

For several disease areas, IHE has analysed the association between modifiable risk factors, such as BMI, physical activity, and smoking, and disease.

Examples of studies examining modifiable risk factors in cancer, cardiovascular disease, and brain disorders include:

Screening

Health economic evaluations assess the costs and effects of preventive interventions, such as screening, to determine whether they are cost-effective. If an intervention is not cost-effective, the same resources could potentially generate greater health benefits if used in another area of healthcare.

IHE has developed a health economic model for analysing the expected costs and health effects of screening. The model has been used, among other applications, to inform the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare’s recommendations on population-based screening.

Examples of studies on screening include:

Other types of studies related to prevention

For many diseases, early and accurate diagnosis is crucial to ensure that the right treatment is initiated at the right time, thereby improving prognosis. This can be achieved in different ways, including through precision prevention.