Return on investment (ROI) modelling in public health: strengths and limitations.

Abstract

‘Public Health is (ROI): Save Lives, Save Money’, was a theme of 2013 national public health campaign in USA.1 Public health has traditionally been regarded as an economic good with mostly preventive attributes. Benefits from consuming such goods usually accrue in the distant future and are large. However, an up-front cost is required to produce this good, which individuals are not willing to pay for, making this an excellent example of ‘market failure’. Governmental provision therefore is seen to be an acceptable policy intervention to correct those inefficiencies.