Something fresh off the press for those interested in the applications of psychology to health: Teaching relevance ? hmmm - Psychology of Adjustment courses, Stress and Health units . . . Sandra NR <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> 3) WHAT'S AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION WORTH? NEW COST-EFFECTIVENESS REPORT A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzes the cost- effectiveness of prevention strategies for 19 diseases and conditions. Based on a literature review, the report provides one-page summaries of health impact, costs of health condition, effectiveness of interventions, and cost-effectiveness of interventions for each condition. Of nineteen health conditions covered in the report, **behavioral or social preventive interventions** were evaluated for eight: bicycle-related head injuries, childhood lead poisoning, coronary heart disease, dental caries, HIV/AIDS transmission, low-birthweight, and smoking. The behavioral and social interventions included counseling, changes to laws, and community-wide programs. What's an ounce of prevention worth? Behavioral/social interventions saved as much as $14,755 per low-birthweight birth prevented (through prenatal care), and $4.1 to $12.7 billion in medical costs and productivity losses from heart disease over ten years (by reducing fat intake one to three percent.) Some of the programs were measured in terms of cost per life-year gained; for example, brief advice and physician counseling about quitting smoking costs about $705 to $988 per life year gained for men. The fact that **behavioral/social interventions** were discussed for eight out of nineteen listed conditions may be seen as a large step forward from other listings of preventive services, which have tended to focus almost entirely on interventions like screening and immunization. The latter focus results in part from a lack of data about behavioral and social preventive interventions. Indeed, behavioral and social strategies ARE identifiable for many of the conditions for which non-behavioral strategies were evaluated (counseling and community interventions for sexually transmitted disease prevention, dietary interventions for many of the listed conditions, etc.) Perhaps with more evaluative and cost effectiveness data, those interventions would be more frequently cited as examples of good practice. The report is valuable both because it gathers data about cost effectiveness in an easy to read format - and because it suggests research gaps in documenting the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness for various behavioral and social interventions. ==> Download the report: http://www.cdc.gov/epo/prevent.htm. <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> H E A L T H a n d B E H A V I O R I N F O R M A T I O N T R A N S F E R ( H A B I T ) April 20, 1999 <> Vol. 2, No. 6 ==> C O N T E N T S <== * GREETINGS: Research Training * FEATURES 1) NIMH Co-Morbidity Research: "A Great Time to Be Applying" 2) NIMH Health and Behavioral Science Research Branch: Brief Overview 3) "An Ounce of Prevention": New Cost-Effectiveness Report 4) FOIA Update / Kudos To HABIT Readers * HEALTH & BEHAVIOR HEADLINES * RESOURCES (37 listings) <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ==> A B O U T T H I S N E W S L E T T E R <== HABIT is edited by the Center for the Advancement of Health for the Health and Behavior Alliance. The Alliance is 26 professional research societies, representing over 250,000 researchers, working together to increase the priority of and resources devoted to health and behavior research. Find member organizations and information about our activities at <http://www.cfah.org/alliance/main.htm>. The Center for the Advancement of Health is a nonprofit policy organization that promotes an understanding of health as a dynamic relationship between biology, behavior, emotion, and social context. The Center is funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Nathan Cummings Foundation. Contact the Center through HABIT Editor Roni Neff, MS: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or (202)387-2829. Visit our website: <http://www.cfah.org/>. To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE to HABIT, send e-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Subject line: "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" (no quotes). Message: your email address. View back issues of HABIT: <http://www.cfah.org/alliance/main.htm> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
