Societal & financial cost of illness

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Translational Science Benefits

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Clinical

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Community

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Economic

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Policy

Economic benefits (Financial savings & benefits)

Definition

Reduced social and economic costs of acute or chronic disease or other health conditions. Examples include general productivity losses, reduced quality of life, and lowered resources.

Rationale

New procedures, interventions, policies, and other benefits from translational science hold the potential to alleviate undue societal and community burden, provide opportunities for reallocation of resources, and increase quality of life.

Guidance

Advice from authors on searching for information:

Determining measurable changes to the societal costs of illness from particular innovations in translational science are generally long-term or not directly observable. Researchers are encouraged to gather data early on the indirect costs of the condition(s) affected by shorter-term benefits such as patents or policies and establish a routine of collecting data at fixed-time intervals to demonstrate societal impact.

Resources & Data

Organizations, repositories, websites, and other sources where you can find more information:

  • Global Burden of Disease (GBD). The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) is the single largest and most detailed scientific effort ever conducted to quantify levels and trends in health. Led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, it is truly a global effort, with over 1,000 researchers from more than 100 countries participating in the effort.
  • Global Health Observatory Data (GHO). The GHO data repository contains an extensive list of indicators, which can be selected by theme or through a multi-dimension query functionality. It is the World Health Organization’s main health statistics repository.
  • Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys (MEPS). Since 1996, the MEPS have collected data on health care services and their costs from individuals, employers, and providers.

Data Limitations

Challenges you may encounter while searching for information:

Measurable changes to the societal costs of illness are not always directly observable. The societal cost of illness research by nature is focused on a specific disorder, disease, or condition such as depression, low back pain, or schizophrenia. Depending on the locale, organizations, and other administrative jurisdictional offices may collect and curate data on expenditures on specific disorders, diseases, or conditions which researchers can then analyze for changes. Data may not be available for all disorders, diseases, or conditions.

Publications

Articles, books, and other publications in translational science using the benefit:

Case Studies

Identifying and Addressing Traumatic Stress and Suicidality in Youth Served by Children’s Advocacy Centers

By Implementation Research Institute (IRI)

Assessing the effectiveness of a trauma screening and response protocol to expand access to mental health care for youth in rural Children’s Advocacy Centers.

Clinical & medical benefits

Community & public health benefits

Economic benefits

Policy & legislative benefits

Increasing Access to Buprenorphine in Rural Primary Care 

By Implementation Research Institute (IRI)

Assessing the effectiveness of a buprenorphine prescribing support program to expand access to opioid use disorder treatment in rural primary care settings.

Clinical & medical benefits

Community & public health benefits

Economic benefits

Policy & legislative benefits

A young boy sits in a chair as he receives his chemotherapy treatment intravenously.

Transforming Tears to Smiles: Reducing Needle-based Procedural Pain in Children with Cancer Globally

By St. Jude Global

The Global Comfort Promise initiative reduces needle pain and anxiety for children with cancer in low- and middle-income countries, supporting better adherence to treatment plans and ultimately improving health and survival outcomes

Clinical & medical benefits

Community & public health benefits

Economic benefits

Policy & legislative benefits