Economic Evaluation of Environmental Health Interventions
Author Information
Author(s): Guy Hutton
Primary Institution: World Bank
Hypothesis
How much economic research has been done in the area of environmental health interventions?
Conclusion
The economic evaluation of environmental health interventions is still in its infancy, with a weak evidence base and significant gaps in accessibility and quality.
Supporting Evidence
- Environmental burden of disease represents one quarter of overall disease burden.
- Economic evaluation techniques provide key information to health decision makers.
- The economic evidence base on environmental health interventions remains relatively weak.
Takeaway
This study looks at how well we understand the costs and benefits of health programs that help the environment, like clean water and air. It finds that we need to do better at sharing this information with decision makers.
Methodology
The review is based on articles sourced from a keyword search of title, abstract and MESH term from PubMed covering English-language articles with abstracts and on human subjects for the years 1990 to October 2008.
Potential Biases
The English language-bias of the search methods may have excluded relevant studies published in other languages.
Limitations
The economic evidence base on environmental health interventions remains relatively weak, with too few studies per intervention and variable scientific quality.
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website