Exploring the identification, validation, and categorization of costs and benefits of education in mental health: The PECUNIA project

Abstract

Background Mental health problems can lead to costs and benefits in other sectors (e.g. in the education sector) in addition to the healthcare sector. These related costs and benefits are known as intersectoral costs and benefits (ICBs). Although some ICBs within the education sector have been identified previously, little is known about their extensiveness and transferability, which is crucial for their inclusion in health economics research. Objectives The aim of this study was to identify ICBs in the education sector, to validate the list of ICBs in a broader European context, and to categorize the ICBs using mental health as a case study. Methods Previously identified ICBs in the education sector were used as a basis for this study. Additional ICBs were extracted from peer-reviewed literature in PubMed and grey literature from six European countries. A comprehensive list of unique items was developed based on the identified ICBs. The list was validated by surveying an international group of educational experts. The survey results were used to finalize the list, which was categorized according to the care atom. Results Additional ICBs in the education sector were retrieved from ninety-six sources. Fourteen experts from six European countries assessed the list for completeness, clarity, and relevance. The final list contained twenty-four ICBs categorized into input, throughput, and output. Conclusion By providing a comprehensive list of ICBs in the education sector, this study laid further foundations for the inclusion of important societal costs in health economics research in the broader European context.

Do Costs in the Education Sector Matter? A Systematic Literature Review of the Economic Impact of Psychosocial Problems on the Education Sector

“…Despite recent methodological developments in identifying, measuring, and valuing education costs [12][13][14][15][16], their inclusion in costing research remains limited [17]. This could be attributed to several reasons.…”

A Semiautomated Classification System for Producing Service Directories in Social and Health Care (DESDE-AND): Maturity Assessment Study

“…This pandemic has also shown the relevance of computer modeling, care navigation systems, real-time dashboards, and interactive decision support systems to guide evidence-informed policy. However, to be effective, rapid response digital systems should go beyond traditional semantic interoperability across data sets, and move toward a common coding and counting of service provision (availability, bed capacity, and workforce) from a whole system’s perspective (health, social, housing, employment, education, and justice) [ 3 - 5 ]. This harmonization effort should follow a service ecosystem approach [ 6 ] and focus on the comprehensive assessment of the overall local and regional service availability and capacity as it has also been underscored by the pandemic [ 1 ].…”

“…However, the aggregation and comparison of services from a whole system’s perspective is not an easy task, as shown by previous developments in disability or functional dependency in Europe [ 9 , 10 ], older adults [ 11 ], and mental health and chronic care [ 12 ]. These attempts have been recently extended to education [ 3 ] and justice [ 4 ] where similar problems have been identified.…”

A Semiautomated Classification System for Producing Service Directories in Social and Health Care (DESDE-AND): Maturity Assessment Study (Preprint)

“…This pandemic has also shown the relevance of computer modeling, care navigation systems, real-time dashboards, and interactive decision support systems to guide evidence-informed policy. However, to be effective, rapid response digital systems should go beyond traditional semantic interoperability across data sets, and move toward a common coding and counting of service provision (availability, bed capacity, and workforce) from a whole system's perspective (health, social, housing, employment, education, and justice) [3][4][5]. This harmonization effort should follow a service ecosystem approach [6] and focus on the comprehensive assessment of the overall local and regional service availability and capacity as it has also been underscored by the pandemic [1].…”

“…However, the aggregation and comparison of services from a whole system's perspective is not an easy task, as shown by previous developments in disability or functional dependency in Europe [9,10], older adults [11], and mental health and chronic care [12]. These attempts have been recently extended to education [3] and justice [4] where similar problems have been identified.…”