Publication
Title
The social value of vaccination programs : beyond cost-effectiveness
Author
Abstract
In the current global environment of increased strain on health care budgets, all medical interventions have to compete for funding. Cost-effectiveness analysis has become a standard method to use in estimating how much value an intervention offers relative to its costs, and it has become an influential element in decision making. However, the application of cost-effectiveness analysis to vaccination programs fails to capture the full contribution such a program offers to the community. Recent literature has highlighted how cost-effectiveness analysis can neglect the broader economic impact of vaccines. In this article we also argue that socioethical contributions such as effects on health equity, sustaining the public good of herd immunity, and social integration of minority groups are neglected in cost-effectiveness analysis. Evaluations of vaccination programs require broad and multidimensional perspectives that can account for their social, ethical, and economic impact as well as their cost-effectiveness.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Health affairs. - Millwood, N.Y.
Publication
Millwood, N.Y. : 2016
ISSN
0278-2715
DOI
10.1377/HLTHAFF.2015.1088
Volume/pages
35 :2 (2016) , p. 212-218
ISI
000369697200007
Pubmed ID
26858372
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 05.04.2016
Last edited 09.10.2023
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