The cost-effectiveness of prevention
Assessing Cost-Effectiveness in Prevention (ACE–Prevention) reports on the key findings of a major five-year study, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), and run under the auspices of the Centre for Burden of Disease and Cost-Effectiveness at the University of Queensland and Deakin Health Economics at Deakin University.
An ageing population, population growth, technological advances and increasing expectations of the health system will continue to sharpen the focus on a system that delivers value for money. This report has evaluated the cost-effectiveness of 150 preventive health interventions, addressing areas such as mental health, diabetes, tobacco use, alcohol use, nutrition, body weight, physical activity, blood pressure, blood cholesterol and bone mineral density.
As doctors, it challenges us to learn more from intervention experiences in tobacco control and sun safety, which have demonstrated enormous benefit in the past from well-targeted and sustained activity. It suggests that similar success could be possible in areas such as alcohol use and obesity.
Click here to download the report.

