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Walden University W7 Public Health Initiative Discussion
Respond to the Discussion:
RE: Week 7
Post a brief description of a public health initiative
The public initiative selected for this assignment is physical activity or exercise, which provides return on investment. The public initiative is the construction of bike/pedestrian trails in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America, which resulted in return on investment of medical cost from inactivity (Wang, Macera, Scudder-Soucie, Schmid, Pratt, Buchner, 2005). The public health initiative is a cost-benefit analysis calculation on physical activity providing return on investment benefit.
Describe at least two challenges of quantifying the rate of return for this public health initiative
The example of calculating the rate of return on constructing bike/pedestrian trails in order to promote physical activity comes with challenges. One of the challenges is the issue of estimation the cost based on per capita average per individual in the population. This estimation may not be applicable to every case within the society. Apart from estimation, the issue of reduced funding for high public health interventions despite the high rate of return (Masters et al., 2016). According to Masters et al. (2016), public health interventions continues to experience reduced funding due to competition from complex interests. For instance, most governments investment less than required per capita in public health initiatives (Levi, Juliano, & Richardson, 2007; Anyangu-Amu, S. 2010).
Using the principles of rate of return, explain whether the financing this initiative is justified
As indicated by Wang et al. (2005), $209.28 per capital investment on constructing bike/pedestrian trails yielded $564.41 per capital benefit on direct medical expense. For every $1 investment, there is a return of $2.94, indicating a return of investment ratio of 2.94 (Wang et al., 2005). According to Getzen (2013), rate of return is calculated as ‘gain divide by cost’. The term return on investment (ROI) is a financial calculation involving the benefits subtracted from the inputs that is expressed as a proportion of the cost (Masters, Anwar, Collins, Cookson, & Capewell, 2016). According to the World Health Organization (2021), physical exercise is a musculoskeletal movement of the body that involves energy expenditure. Thus, physical exercise includes any movement of the body such as walking, running, cycling, swimming and so on (WHO, 2021). For instance, the lack of physical activity or exercise result in an estimated $54 billion dollars in direct health care cost and additional $14 billion to lost productivity globally (WHO, 2020). As such investing in physical exercise will save an estimated $68 billion for both health care and productivity (WHO, 2020).
Reference
Anyangu-Amu, S. (2010). Financing Public Health in Africa. Retrieved from
http://www.ipsnews.net/2010/09/financing-public-he…
Getzen, T. E. (2013). Health economics and financing (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Levi, J., Juliano, C., & Richardson, M. (2007). Financing Public Health: Diminished Funding for Core Needs and State-by-State Variation in Support. Journal of Public Management and Practice, 13(2), 97 – 102. Retrieved from
https://oce-ovid-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/articl…
Masters, R., Anwar, E., Collins, B., Cookson, R., Capewell, S. (2016). Return on investment of public health interventions: a systematic review. Retrieved from
https://jech.bmj.com/content/71/8/827
Wang, G., Macera, C., Scudder-Soucie, B., Schmid, T., Pratt, M., Buchner, D. (2005). A cost- benefit analysis of physical activity using bike/pedestrian trails. Retrieved from
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15855287/
World Health Organization. (2020). Every move counts towards better health – says WHO. Retrieved from
https://www.who.int/news/item/25-11-2020-every-move-counts-towards-better-health-says-who
World Health Organization. (2021). Physical activity: Fact Sheet. Retrieved from
s-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity
Ofo Muo
RE: Week 7
Introduction
The public health initiative that I will be addressing for this week’s discussion is the nationwide covid-19 vaccination. The covid-19 virus, first discovered in Wuhan, China, in early 2019, was first reported in the western part of the United States in late 2019, and by March of 2020, the pandemic has spread to the entire nation. Today, the covid-19 pandemic has caused more death than the two previous world wars put together. Besides causing more death than the two world wars, the pandemic has also disrupted the world’s economy and brought it to almost a standstill.
The return on investment (ROI) of the covid-19 vaccination
The rate of return of any public health initiative is a way to quantify whether the money invested in the public health venture produces results that justify the expenditure. Laureate education (2012) noted that it is the time value of money that identifies the future value of money stated in today’s dollars. Masters et al. (2017) indicated that return on investment (ROI) is the benefit minus the cost expressed as a proportion of the benefit divided by the cost. The ROI in covid-19 vaccination cannot be truly quantified in this discussion.
When covid infection became widespread in America, it paralyzed the economy of the country. The majority of the entertainment industry, like restaurants, movie theaters, film production, and the broadway industries, was shut down. Equally affected were the transportation industry, the school system, the judicial system, and virtually every aspect of life that the country was used to having. A once-booming economy that was the envy of the world came to a standstill, and unemployment soared to a level that was unheard of. This resulted in over 60 million unemployment claims being filled. (Cutler & Summers 2020).
The economic cost of human life loss presented a significant challenge to the country. With over 600,000 people dead due to the virus, Cutler & Summers (2020) noted that the conservative value of human life is seven million dollars, which translates to an economic cost of premature deaths expected from covid-19 infection to $4.4 trillion. Overall, Cutler & Summers (2020) noted that the estimated cumulative financial costs of the COVID-19 pandemic related to the lost output and health reduction are more than $16 trillion, or roughly 90% of the annual GDP of the United States.
Besides the economic impact of covid-19 infection, the mental impact can equally be debilitating. Javed et al. (2020) noted that isolation, social distancing, and closure of educational institutes, workplaces, and entertainment venues consigned people to stay in their homes to help break the chain of transmission. While these measures are good in stopping the spread of the virus, the impact on people’s mental health can be devastating and ultimately lead to poor mental health. For the elderly population already dealing with mental health issues, isolation can also result in increased stress, anxiety, and depression
The introduction of the vaccine gave the country a chance to open up again. With over 90 percent efficacy against the virus, people started to dream again about a better future. Getting vaccinated against the coronavirus provided immediate and measurable health benefits. It was a critical component of the United States’ economic recovery. More widespread vaccinations kept people healthier and lower health care costs, made it easier for people to return to work, and increase overall economic activity. Given all the benefits derived since the introduction of the vaccine, there is no doubt that the ROI far exceeds the cost of making these vaccines.
Challenges to quantifying the rate of return on investment of the covid-19 vaccine
One of the most significant challenges to quantifying the rate of return of the covid-19 vaccine is differentiating whether the immunity conferred to people is due to the vaccine or whether it is an acquired immunity from having contracted the virus. Some of the people who are actively refusing the vaccine are those who survived the covid infection. These people believe that since they have contracted the virus and survived, they will not be re-infected due to the immunity the previous infection conferred. This makes it difficult to know whether the reduction in the rate of infection or severe illness is as a result of the virus or the result of naturally acquired immunity.
The misinformation surrounding the covid-19 vaccine presents a daunting challenge to quantifying the ROI on the covid-19 vaccine. The politicization of the vaccine during the last election has cast a negative shadow on the efficacy and safety of the vaccine, which ultimately led to many people declining to participate in the vaccine uptake. (Loomba et al. 2021). Many people refusing to take the vaccine due to their political beliefs present a significant change towards quantifying the vaccine’s ROI.
References
Cutler, D. M., & Summers, L. H. (2020). The COVID-19 Pandemic and the $16 Trillion viruses. JAMA, 324(15), 1495–1496. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.19759
Javed, B., Sarwer, A., Soto, E. B., & Mashwani, Z. U. (2020). The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic’s impact on mental health. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 35(5), 993–996. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.3008
Loomba, S., de Figueiredo, A., Piatek, S. J., de Graaf, K., & Larson, H. J. (2021). Measuring the impact of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on vaccination intent in the UK and USA. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(3), 337–348. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01056-1
Masters, R., Anwar, E., Collins, B., Cookson, R., & Capewell, S. (2017). Return on investment of public health interventions: a systematic review. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 71(8), 827–834. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2016-208141
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