Estimating and comparing the cost effectiveness of primary prevention policies affecting diet and physical activity in England
Coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke are the major causes of mortality in the UK with diet and inactivity together contributing to more disability adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2010 than any other risk factor. CHD and stroke are estimated to cost the UK in excess of £30 billion per year and it has been suggested that prevention strategies are likely to be cost-effective. In order to inform local and national public health policy, it is important for decision makers to be able to compare the cost-effectiveness of interventions affecting these risk factors. Currently this is not possible as available models use different baseline datasets, different methods and make different assumptions.
To assess the comparative cost effectiveness of primary prevention policies in England, this DPhil aims to develop a novel computer model. The model will estimate the impact of policies affecting diet and physical activity on non-communicable disease morbidity and mortality (initially CHD and stroke), as well as associated costs and savings, in order to estimate policies' comparative cost effectiveness.
Adam is funded by a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Training Fellowship and is supervised by Dr Peter Scarborough, and Dr Jane Wolstenholme (HERC, NDPH)