National Public Health Week: Public Health is ROI. Save Lives, Save Money
While this is the first year that the American Public Health Association has used “return on investment” as the theme for National Public Health Week, which runs through April 7, it’s far from the first time that public health practitioners have made the case to policymakers that the work of public health can save lives and money.
Research on the impact of public health services includes the critical fact that spending just $10 per person in programs aimed at smoking cessation, improved nutrition and better physical fitness could save the nation more than $16 billion a year, according to the Trust for America’s Health. That’s a nearly $6 return for every $1 spent.
Over the last two years, NewPublicHealth has reported frequently on the value of investing in public health. Some of our favorite ROI articles, reports and other resources include:
- >>UPDATE: Trust for America's Health released Investing in America's Health: A State-by-State Look at Public Health Funding and Key Health Facts today. The report examine public health funding and key health facts in states around the country, finding inadequate and cut funding and wide variation in health outcomes by state and county.
- Making the Case for Prevention: A Q&A with James S. Marks, Senior Vice President, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, about the great potential for investing in prevention.
- National Prevention Resources Starter Guide:
A collection of resources that showcase how different fields can work together and take action to prioritize prevention.
- Strategies to Move from Sick Care to Health Care: The Trust for America's Health identifies high-impact steps that the nation can take to prioritize prevention and improve Americans' health.
- Workplace Wellness Perspectives: A Q&A with two very different businesses—one big, one small; one academic, one industrial—on creating healthier workplaces.
- Employers Join Community Health Movement: A Q&A with Trust for America’s Health and the National Business Coalition on Health about the critical role of employers in community prevention efforts.
- Stories of the value of investing in prevention from Wyandotte County, Kan., and Hernando, Miss.
>>Read more on the value of prevention from RWJF.org.
Also check out a new public health infographic from the American Public Health Association and Piktochart. View the full infographic at NPHW.org.
