Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Public Health: Optimizing Resource Allocation for Preventive Interventions

Анотація

Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is the principal analytical tool used in health economics to compare the costs and health consequences of alternative interventions, informing decisions about resource allocation in health systems with finite budgets. This article examines the methodological foundations of cost-effectiveness analysis as applied to preventive public health interventions, reviewing the measurement of costs and health outcomes, the construction of cost-effectiveness ratios, the role of the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) and quality-adjusted life year (QALY) as outcome metrics, and the interpretation of CEA findings within health technology assessment frameworks. Drawing on methodological literature in health economics, the Disease Control Priorities project, and WHO guidance on economic evaluation, the paper argues that rigorous cost-effectiveness analysis is essential for evidence-based priority-setting in public health, while also examining the important limitations of CEA and the distributional and equity considerations that pure efficiency analysis cannot capture.

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