Understanding the economics of investments in the social determinants of health

This evidence review was commissioned by Public Health England (PHE) and written by the UCL Institute of Health Equity. It provides information to support decision-making on actions to address the social determinants of health and the development of business cases for investment. It supplements the evidence reviews in this series, which include information on the economic impacts of actions on health inequalities, and should help the reader to be an intelligent customer and commissioner of economic analyses and to understand their limitations.

This paper covers:

• The rationale for understanding, measuring and taking into account the economic impact of decisions and interventions that impact on the social determinants of health
• The benefits and limitations of various ‘economic measures of impact’ – commonly used terms which can be confusing, sometimes leading to misinterpretation of which measure of economic impact is appropriate for what purpose
• What is currently known about the economic impact of intervening in the social determinants of health
• Good practice and further resources which will support better decisions

Access the review here.