Citation

Mason J, Brown MJ. J. Public Health Manag. Pract. 2010; 16(5 Suppl): S79-89.

Affiliation

Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, USA. zao4@cdc.gov

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/PHH.0b013e3181e28b2e

PMID

20689380

Abstract

Public health is embracing economic analyses in an effort to use limited resources in the most efficient manner. However, users of economic analyses in the public health arena should recognize the inherent strengths and weaknesses of different types of analysis, as well as understand how the inclusion or omission of certain costs or benefits might influence study results. For example, asthma is a chronic condition that can result in health care costs that accrue well beyond the duration of a housing intervention. Thus, an economic analysis that omits long-term health care costs can underestimate the total economic benefit of the housing intervention. This article contains reviews of economic articles on housing interventions published in PubMed, examines salient differences between studies, and discusses pertinent gaps in the literature. In addition, this article attempts to provide an overview of key economic evaluation methods in relation to housing interventions to a target audience of local and state public health practitioners. Specific housing-related health issues discussed include asthma, lead, and carbon monoxide poisoning and radon-related lung cancer.

Language: en