Ammerman Alice S, Farrelly Matthew A, Cavallo David N, Ickes Scott B, Hoerger Thomas J
University of North Carolina Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, and the Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA.
Am J Prev Med. 2009 Mar;36(3):273-5. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.11.005.
Economic analysis is an important tool in deciding how to allocate scarce public health resources; however, there is currently a dearth of such analysis by public health researchers.
Public health researchers and practitioners were surveyed to determine their current use of health economics and to identify barriers to use as well as potential strategies to decrease those barriers in order to allow them to more effectively incorporate economic analyses into their work. Data collected from five focus groups informed survey development. The survey included a demographic section and 14 multi-part questions. Participants were recruited in 2006 from three national public health organizations through e-mail; 294 academicians, practitioners, and community representatives answered the survey.
Survey data were analyzed in 2007. Despite an expressed belief in the importance of health economics, more than half of the respondents reported very little or no current use of health economics in their work. Of those using health economics, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis and determination of public health costs were cited as the measures used most frequently. The most important barriers were lack of expertise, funding, time, tools, and data, as well as discomfort with economic theory. The resource deemed most important to using health economics was collaboration with economists or those with economic training. Respondents indicated a desire to learn more about health economics and tools for performing economic analysis.
Given the importance of incorporating economic analysis into public health interventions, and the desire of survey respondents for more collaboration with health economists, opportunities for such collaborations should be increased.
经济分析是决定如何分配稀缺公共卫生资源的重要工具；然而，目前公共卫生研究人员对此类分析的开展较少。
对公共卫生研究人员和从业者进行调查，以确定他们目前对卫生经济学的使用情况，找出使用障碍以及减少这些障碍的潜在策略，以便他们能更有效地将经济分析纳入其工作。从五个焦点小组收集的数据为调查的开展提供了信息。该调查包括一个人口统计学部分和14个多部分问题。2006年通过电子邮件从三个全国性公共卫生组织招募了参与者；294位院士、从业者和社区代表回答了该调查。
2007年对调查数据进行了分析。尽管大家都认为卫生经济学很重要，但超过一半的受访者表示目前在工作中很少或根本没有使用卫生经济学。在使用卫生经济学的人中，成本效益分析、成本效果分析以及公共卫生成本的确定被列为最常用的方法。最重要的障碍是缺乏专业知识、资金、时间、工具和数据，以及对经济理论感到不适。被认为对使用卫生经济学最重要的资源是与经济学家或接受过经济学培训的人合作。受访者表示希望更多地了解卫生经济学和进行经济分析的工具。
鉴于将经济分析纳入公共卫生干预措施的重要性，以及调查受访者希望与卫生经济学家加强合作的愿望，应增加此类合作的机会。
