Methodology

Cost-of-illness, cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses are common tools increasingly employed to measure the economic burden of disease because of their resonance with both policy makers and politicians. There is, however, no consensus on the methods behind these studies making comparisons between studies difficult. The project will bring together a group of international experts from the EConDA team, including the OECD, WHO and members of the European Chronic Disease Alliance to debate these issues and establish a consensus on the best method/s to measure cost-effectiveness and impact on economies of integrated approaches to chronic disease prevention.

EConDA will use a microsimulation model initially developed by the UK Health Forum (formally the National Heart Forum) for the Tackling Obesities enquiry (Foresight, 2007). This model will show how the costs of chronic diseases in 8 EU countries will alter both currently and into the future based on existing chronic disease trends. The project will focus on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory diseases and two risk factors: obesity and tobacco in 8 EU countries: Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.