Health Economic Aspects of Injury Prevention at the Municipal Level

Abstract

Unintentional injuries are a global health problem, which in 1996 was estimated to cause up to 3 million deaths per year. In Sweden, about 4,600 people die annually due to external causes of morbidity and mortality (injuries and poisoning). Among children 1 to 17 years old, injuries are the leading cause of death in Sweden for both boys and girls. Injuries are also the leading cause of life years lost before age 65 in men and the second most common in women.Injury prevention interventions and programs can be implemented to mitigate the magnitude of this public health problem, the number of injuries in society, and the substantial costs associated with injuries. Society's resources are however limited and therefore it is pivotal that interventions are cost-effective and not only effective: that is, that they provide good value for money.Hence, the aim of this thesis was to develop new knowledge and improve decision making by elaborating on some of the important health economic aspects of injury prevention. Consequently, a critical appraisal of the existing cost-effectiveness studies on injury prevention interventions and estimations of the societal costs for different types of injuries that needed medical attention were conducted. The critical appraisal of studies was limited to those studies that investigated interventions that could be implemented by municipalities. The