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Public health, population health and planning
Prevention and health care planning play important roles in peoples’ well-being. Public health initiatives cover a very broad range of social problems and carry particular challenges for evaluation. UEA staff have been at the forefront of developing new methods for prioritising national health programmes.
The evaluation of public health interventions is often more complex than for more targeted interventions/technologies, with outcomes and costs lasting over many years and taking different forms. These may be difficult to measure by conventional economic methods and often need to look at equity too. We specialise in the economics of physical activity and have developed the MOVES model to estimate gains (such as reduced risks of weight-related diseases, and changes in other lifestyle habits such as smoking) and potential return on investment. This can be at all levels from local/regional to national, international and even global. HEC has helped several towns, regions and whole countries to plan and prioritise their health systems. Relevant work includes advising the World Health Organization on a public health insurance scheme for Sudan.
Related Case Studies
The aim of this evaluation was to provide the best estimates of the potential impact leveraging existing leisure services and community assets could have on health and health-related benefits considering the emerging Integrated Care Systems (ICS) strategy. HEC previously built and delivered a comprehensive model for the economic outcomes of sport ('MOVES') for Sport England and this model was adapted using the Office for National Statistics population data, data on physical inactivity as well as socioeconomic classification data.
On average, over 25% of the population is physically inactive and this varies by age, gender, social class, and ethnic background. Physical activity and community engagement are key drivers of population health, with variation in healthy behaviours accounting for approximately 45% of the variation in health outcomes. Leisure services play a vital role in enabling equality of access to activities, which promote rehabilitation and population health, and also act as a catalyst and convener for community engagement at a local level. Local Authorities are uniquely positioned to increase general and targeted participation levels, coordinate and leverage community assets, and participate in specific health initiatives such as social prescribing and (p)rehabilitation and exercise referral schemes.
We based our analysis on a hypothetical cohort of approximately 1 million individuals with an assumption that this population will comprise of physically inactive adults - 1% from the higher socioeconomic group, 2.5% from the middle socioeconomic group and 5% from the lower socioeconomic group. Physical activity was taken as a proxy for general participation in leisure services, but we also recognise there are many others benefits.