Journal Article

The Social Value Of Vaccination Programs: Beyond Cost-Effectiveness

Beutels, Philippe, Luyten, Jeroen

2016

Overview

In the current global environment of increased strain on health care budgets, all medical interventions have to compete for funding. Cost-effectiveness analysis has become a standard method to use in estimating how much value an intervention offers relative to its costs, and it has become an influential element in decision making. However, the application of cost-effectiveness analysis to vaccination programs fails to capture the full contribution such a program offers to the community. Recent literature has highlighted how cost-effectiveness analysis can neglect the broader economic impact of vaccines. In this article we also argue that socioethical contributions such as effects on health equity, sustaining the public good of herd immunity, and social integration of minority groups are neglected in cost-effectiveness analysis. Evaluations of vaccination programs require broad and multidimensional perspectives that can account for their social, ethical, and economic impact as well as their cost-effectiveness.

• Publisher: The People to People Health Foundation, Inc., Project HOPE
• Subject: Antibiotics / Budgets / Caregivers / Clinical decision making / Cost analysis / Costs / Decision analysis / Decision making / Disease transmission / Drug resistance / Economic analysis / Economic impact / Economics / Effectiveness / Equity / Ethics / Funding / Global environment / Globalization / Government spending / Health care expenditures / Health care policy / Health disparities / Health services / Herd immunity / Immunity / Immunity (Disease) / Immunization / Impact analysis / Infectious diseases / Influenza / International / Intervention / Measles / Minority & ethnic groups / Minority groups / Population / Privileges & immunities / Public health / Smallpox / Social groups / Social integration / Social programs / Streptococcus infections / Studies / Vaccination / Vaccines / Value