Prevention Matters

The health benefits Americans have gained by reducing their tobacco use are becoming "outweighed" by the negative effects of our growing obesity epidemic, according to a new study. The study, led by Susan Stewart of Harvard University, forecasts the life expectancy for a nationally representative 18-year-old assuming that recent trends in smoking and weight gain continued for the next decade or so.

While continued declines in cigarette smoking would increase the life expectancy of the18-year-old by 0.31 years by 2020, continued increases in BMI would cut life expectancy by 1.02 years over the same period of time. That's an overall net loss in life expectancy 0.71 years.

How do you prove the value of disease prevention and health promotion? A research team at Harvard Medical School thinks they may have an answer. They have developed a calculator that allows them to estimate the return on investment of prevention services. Dr. Nancy Oriol, dean of students at Harvard Medical School and a leader of the research team, explains how this new tool operates. She also discusses "The Family Van," a mobile clinic program she has helped to operate in the Boston area that inspired their efforts to develop the calculator. To listen to this podcast, click on the media player below. If you don't see a media player below, click here.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School have led the development of a prototype "return on investment calculator" that can measure the value of prevention services. Using a Boston-based mobile health program called the "Family Van" to test the tool, the team found that for the services provided in 2008, this program, in the long run, will return $36 for every dollar invested.

The researchers used published data from Partnership for Prevention's National Commission on Prevention Priorities (NCPP), which assigns values to a broad array of preventative practices, as well as published data on the cost-savings of preventing avoidable emergency room visits, the team developed an algorithm that "calculates" a return on investment ratio, thereby quantifying the value of mobile health care to the overall health care system.

The Harvard School of Public Health has released a new survey of Americans and their family members are doing to try to avoid the flu epidemic. Here’s what they say:

59% have washed their hands or used hand sanitizer more frequently
25% have avoided crowded places such as sporting events, malls or public transportation
20% have avoided people they thought may have recently visited Mexico
17% have avoided Mexican restaurants or grocery stores
8% have worn a face mask
5% have purchased a face mask
5% have talked with their doctor about health issues related to swine flu
1% have gotten a prescription for or purchased antivirals

Some of these approaches - like hand-washing - are evidence-based, while others - like avoiding crowdedplaces and Mexcan restaurants - are not. But it's an interesting list.

"An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that they can get the current swine flu from being in close contact with someone who has it (83%), and few believe that they can get the disease from eating pork (13%)," the study says. "Some Americans also believe that they can get the swine flu from being near, but not in close contact with, someone with swine flu (29%), or from being in contact with pigs (34%). "