IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/100054.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The economic case for the prevention of mental illness

Author

Listed:
  • McDaid, David
  • Park, A-La
  • Wahlbeck, Kristian

Abstract

Poor mental health has profound economic consequences. Given the burden of poor mental health, the economic case for preventing mental illness and promoting better mental health may be very strong, but too often prevention attracts little attention and few resources. This article describes the potential role that can be played by economic evidence alongside experimental trials and observational studies, or through modeling, to substantiate the need for increased investment in prevention. It illustrates areas of action across the life course where there is already a good economic case. It also suggests some further areas of substantive public health concern, with promising effectiveness evidence, that may benefit from economic analysis. Financial and economic barriers to implementation are then presented, and strategies to address the barriers and increase investment in the prevention of mental illness are suggested.

Suggested Citation

  • McDaid, David & Park, A-La & Wahlbeck, Kristian, 2019. "The economic case for the prevention of mental illness," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 100054, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:100054
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/100054/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Billie Lever Taylor & Kate Cavanagh & Clara Strauss, 2016. "The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Interventions in the Perinatal Period: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(5), pages 1-29, May.
    2. Knapp, Martin & McDaid, David & Parsonage, Michael, 2011. "Mental health promotion and mental illness prevention: the economic case," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 32311, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Shanahan, D.F. & Lin, B.B. & Bush, R. & Gaston, K.J. & Dean, J.H. & Barber, E. & Fuller, R.A., 2015. "Toward improved public health outcomes from urban nature," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 105(3), pages 470-477.
    4. Don Husereau & Anthony Culyer & Peter Neumann & Philip Jacobs, 2015. "How do Economic Evaluations Inform Health Policy Decisions for Treatment and Prevention in Canada and the United States?," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 273-279, June.
    5. Brimblecombe, Nicola & Evans-Lacko, Sara & Knapp, Martin & King, Derek & Takizawa, Ryu & Maughan, Barbara & Arseneault, Louise, 2018. "Long term economic impact associated with childhood bullying victimisation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 134-141.
    6. McDaid, David & Park, A-La, 2016. "Evidence on financing and budgeting mechanisms to support intersectoral actions between health, education, social welfare and labour sectors," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 67725, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. David McDaid & Emily Hewlett & A-La Park, 2017. "Understanding effective approaches to promoting mental health and preventing mental illness," OECD Health Working Papers 97, OECD Publishing.
    8. Wahlbeck, Kristian & McDaid, David, 2012. "Actions to alleviate the mental health impact of the economic crisis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 46543, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Park, A-La & McDaid, David & Weiser, Prisca & von Gottberg, Carolin & Becker, Thomas & Kilian, Reinhold, 2013. "Examining the cost effectiveness of interventions to promote the physical health of people with mental health problems: a systematic review," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 52157, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Drummond, Michael F. & Sculpher, Mark J. & Claxton, Karl & Stoddart, Greg L. & Torrance, George W., 2015. "Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programmes," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, edition 4, number 9780199665884.
    11. Math Janssen & Yvonne Heerkens & Wietske Kuijer & Beatrice van der Heijden & Josephine Engels, 2018. "Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on employees’ mental health: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(1), pages 1-37, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Chris Gibbons’s journal round-up for 1st July 2019
      by Christopher Gibbons in The Academic Health Economists' Blog on 2019-07-01 11:00:08

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Buckley, Ralf & Westaway, Diane, 2020. "Mental health rescue effects of women's outdoor tourism: A role in COVID-19 recovery," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    2. David J. Emerson & Joseph F. Hair & Kenneth J. Smith, 2023. "Psychological Distress, Burnout, and Business Student Turnover: The Role of Resilience as a Coping Mechanism," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(2), pages 228-259, March.
    3. Ziggi Ivan Santini & Hannah Becher & Maja Bæksgaard Jørgensen & Michael Davidsen & Line Nielsen & Carsten Hinrichsen & Katrine Rich Madsen & Charlotte Meilstrup & Ai Koyanagi & Sarah Stewart-Brown & D, 2021. "Economics of mental well-being: a prospective study estimating associated health care costs and sickness benefit transfers in Denmark," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(7), pages 1053-1065, September.
    4. Tony Robinson & Joan Condell & Elaine Ramsey & Gerard Leavey, 2023. "Self-Management of Subclinical Common Mental Health Disorders (Anxiety, Depression and Sleep Disorders) Using Wearable Devices," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-22, February.
    5. Jane Cooley Fruehwirth & Alex Xingbang Weng & Krista M. Perreira, 2024. "The effect of social media use on mental health of college students during the pandemic," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(10), pages 2229-2252, October.
    6. Ralf C. Buckley, 2022. "Sensory and Emotional Components in Tourist Memories of Wildlife Encounters: Intense, Detailed, and Long-Lasting Recollections of Individual Incidents," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-12, April.
    7. Salinda Horgan & Jeanette Prorok & Katie Ellis & Laura Mullaly & Keri-Leigh Cassidy & Dallas Seitz & Claire Checkland, 2024. "Optimizing Older Adult Mental Health in Support of Healthy Ageing: A Pluralistic Framework to Inform Transformative Change across Community and Healthcare Domains," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(6), pages 1-21, May.
    8. Ralf C. Buckley & Mary-Ann Cooper, 2022. "Tourism as a Tool in Nature-Based Mental Health: Progress and Prospects Post-Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-15, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Knapp, Martin & Wong, Gloria, 2020. "Economics and mental health: the current scenario," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102717, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Evans-Lacko, Sara & Knapp, Martin & McCrone, Paul & Thornicroft, Graham & Mojtabai, Ramin, 2013. "The mental health consequences of the recession: economic hardship and employment of people with mental health problems in 27 European countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 51632, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Masja Schmidt & Amber Werbrouck & Nick Verhaeghe & Koen Putman & Steven Simoens & Lieven Annemans, 2020. "Universal Mental Health Interventions for Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Health Economic Evaluations," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 155-175, April.
    4. Irina Pokhilenko & Luca M. M. Janssen & Aggie T. G. Paulus & Ruben M. W. A. Drost & William Hollingworth & Joanna C. Thorn & Sian Noble & Judit Simon & Claudia Fischer & Susanne Mayer & Luis Salvador-, 2023. "Development of an Instrument for the Assessment of Health-Related Multi-sectoral Resource Use in Europe: The PECUNIA RUM," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 155-166, March.
    5. Chiranjeev Sanyal & Don Husereau, 2020. "Systematic Review of Economic Evaluations of Services Provided by Community Pharmacists," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 375-392, June.
    6. Andrew J. Mirelman & Miqdad Asaria & Bryony Dawkins & Susan Griffin & Richard Cookson & Peter Berman, 2020. "Fairer Decisions, Better Health for All: Health Equity and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Paul Revill & Marc Suhrcke & Rodrigo Moreno-Serra & Mark Sculpher (ed.), Global Health Economics Shaping Health Policy in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, chapter 4, pages 99-132, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    7. Charlie M. Shackleton & Patrick T. Hurley & Annika C. Dahlberg & Marla R. Emery & Harini Nagendra, 2017. "Urban Foraging: A Ubiquitous Human Practice Overlooked by Urban Planners, Policy, and Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-18, October.
    8. Christopher M Doran & Irina Kinchin, 2020. "Economic and epidemiological impact of youth suicide in countries with the highest human development index," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(5), pages 1-11, May.
    9. Math Janssen & Beatrice Van der Heijden & Josephine Engels & Hubert Korzilius & Pascale Peters & Yvonne Heerkens, 2020. "Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training on Healthcare Professionals’ Mental Health: Results from a Pilot Study Testing Its Predictive Validity in a Specialized Hospital Setting," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-14, December.
    10. Boniface Oyugi & Olena Nizalova & Sally Kendall & Stephen Peckham, 2024. "Does a free maternity policy in Kenya work? Impact and cost–benefit consideration based on demographic health survey data," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 25(1), pages 77-89, February.
    11. Lili Huang & Yunzhi Zhao & Chunfang Qiang & Bozhen Fan, 2018. "Is cognitive behavioral therapy a better choice for women with postnatal depression? A systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(10), pages 1-16, October.
    12. Muchandifunga Trust Muchadeyi & Karla Hernandez-Villafuerte & Gian Luca Tanna & Rachel D. Eckford & Yan Feng & Michela Meregaglia & Tessa Peasgood & Stavros Petrou & Jasper Ubels & Michael Schlander, 2024. "Quality Appraisal in Systematic Literature Reviews of Studies Eliciting Health State Utility Values: Conceptual Considerations," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 42(7), pages 767-782, July.
    13. Lili Wang & Lei Si & Fiona Cocker & Andrew J. Palmer & Kristy Sanderson, 2018. "A Systematic Review of Cost-of-Illness Studies of Multimorbidity," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 15-29, February.
    14. Etienne Nédellec & Judith Pineau & Patrice Prognon & Nicolas Martelli, 2018. "Level of Evidence in Economic Evaluations of Left Atrial Appendage Closure Devices: A Systematic Review," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 16(6), pages 793-802, December.
    15. Qi Cao & Erik Buskens & Hans L. Hillege & Tiny Jaarsma & Maarten Postma & Douwe Postmus, 2019. "Stratified treatment recommendation or one-size-fits-all? A health economic insight based on graphical exploration," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 20(3), pages 475-482, April.
    16. Hensher, Martin & Canny, Ben & Zimitat, Craig & Campbell, Julie & Palmer, Andrew, 2020. "Health care, overconsumption and uneconomic growth: A conceptual framework," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    17. Dongzhe Hong & Lei Si & Minghuan Jiang & Hui Shao & Wai-kit Ming & Yingnan Zhao & Yan Li & Lizheng Shi, 2019. "Cost Effectiveness of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) Inhibitors, Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Receptor Agonists, and Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 (DPP-4) Inhibitors: A Systematic Review," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 37(6), pages 777-818, June.
    18. Werner Brouwer & Kaya Verbooy & Renske Hoefman & Job Exel, 2023. "Production Losses due to Absenteeism and Presenteeism: The Influence of Compensation Mechanisms and Multiplier Effects," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 41(9), pages 1103-1115, September.
    19. Simon Pol & Paula Rojas Garcia & Fernando Antoñanzas Villar & Maarten J. Postma & Antoinette D. I. Asselt, 2021. "Health-Economic Analyses of Diagnostics: Guidance on Design and Reporting," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 39(12), pages 1355-1363, December.
    20. Paul Revill & Simon Walker & Valentina Cambiano & Andrew Phillips & Mark J Sculpher, 2018. "Reflecting the real value of health care resources in modelling and cost-effectiveness studies—The example of viral load informed differentiated care," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    prevention; economic evaluation; mental illness; economic modeling; intersectoral actions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:100054. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.