Recent cuts public health budgets in the UK are therefore a false economy and are set to cost the National Health Service NHS and the wider economy “billions” conclude the researchers, who warn other countries to think again before going down a similar route.
Prompted by cuts to public health budgets, the researchers decided to determine the average return on investment (ROI) for a range of public health interventions.
They identified studies that had calculated an ROI for local and national public health initiatives and/or had worked out the overall value for money of a project or proposal.
Out of nearly 3,000 articles, they found 52 suitable studies, published over four decades, and covering 29 different types of intervention in the UK, Western Europe, the US, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
These included initiatives designed to protect public health or promote good health, as well as legislation.
Analysis of the studies showed that the average ROI for a public health initiative was 14.3 for every unit cost spent on it.
When the overall impact of all 29 interventions was assessed, the ROI on local initiatives was 4.1, meaning that every £1 spent returns £4 plus the original £1 investment, while the average cost benefit ratio was 10.3.
Even larger benefits accrued for national policies reported by 28 studies. Analysis of the data from these showed that the average ROI was 27.2 while the average cost benefit ratio was 17.2.
The results, “Clearly demonstrate that public health interventions are cost-saving, both to health services as well as the wider economy,” say the researchers. Some interventions, falls prevention for example, can produce substantial returns within 6 to 12 months.
A recent £200 million cut to public health funding in the UK will cost £1.6 billion. “The UK government's ‘efficiency savings’ thus represent a false economy which will generate many billions in additional future costs to the ailing NHS and wider UK economy,” said the researchers.
And they warn, “Although this study draws on the experience of the UK public health system, there are implications for public health systems outside of the UK.”
Research: Return on investment of public health interventions: a systematic review, Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. doi 10.1136/jech-2016-208141
Receive the Funding Newswire each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.