The social value of investing in public health across the life course: a systematic scoping review

Abstract

Background: Making the case for investing in public health by illustrating the social, economic and environmental value of public health interventions is imperative. Economic methodologies to help capture the social value of public health interventions such as Social Return on Investment (SROI) and Social Cost-Benefit Analysis (SCBA) have been developed over past decades. The life course approach in public health reinforces the importance of investment to ensure a good start in life to safeguarding a safe, healthy and active older age. This novel review maps an overview of the application of SROI and SCBA in the existing literature to identify the social value of public health interventions at individual stages of the life course. Methods: A systematic scoping review was conducted on peer-reviewed and grey literature to identify SROI and SCBA studies of public health interventions published between January 1996 and June 2019. All primary research articles published in the English language from high-income countries that presented SROI and SCBA outputs were included. Studies were mapped into stages of the life course, and data on the characteristics of the studies were extracted to help understand the application of social value methodology to assess the value of public health interventions. Results: Overall 40 SROI studies were included in the final data extraction, of which 37 were published in the grey literature. No SCBA studies were identified in the search. Evidence was detected at each stage of the life course which included; the birth, neonatal period, postnatal period and infancy (n = 2); childhood and adolescence (n = 17); adulthood (main employment and reproductive years) (n = 8); and older adulthood (n = 6). In addition, 7 studies were identified as cross-cutting across the life course in their aims. Conclusion: This review contributes to the growing evidence base that demonstrates the use of social value methodologies within the field of public health. By mapping evidence across stages of the life course, this study can be used as a starting point by public health professionals and institutions to take forward current thinking about moving away from traditional economic measures, to capturing social value when investing in interventions across the life course.

The social return on investment model: a systematic literature review

“…Grant and Booth (2009) identified 14 different methods for reviewing the literature on a specific topic. However, although scholars have shown compelling examples of reviews such as structured literature review (Cuozzo et al , 2017), scoping review (Ashton et al , 2020) and critical review (Keane et al , 2019), this study implements a systematic literature review as it “seeks to systematically search for, appraise and synthesis research evidence, often adhering to guidelines on the conduct of a review” (Grant and Booth, 2009, p. 94). Additionally, as Gosselin et al (2020) performed in their systematic literature review on SROI in sports, this study also follows the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement (Moher et al , 2009).…”

Exploring the social value of Public Health Institutes: An international scoping survey and expert interviews

“…Future research could also explore the practical application of social value methods in Public Health Institutes, such as use of SROI methodologies as the primary tool for capturing and articulating the social value of interventions which are promoted by Public Health Institutes. Although there is existing research which collates social value evidence relevant to public health ( 19 , 20 ), there is a need to progress academic evidence of cases studies in the specialty of public health ( 7 ).…”

“…Through stakeholder engagement, the SROI approach defines outcomes, and allows a monetary value to be placed on the non-financial returns on investment by applying proxy values (18). This is particularly relevant for public health policies and interventions, which usually have multiple "soft" and difficult to quantify impacts, such as improving or promoting health, wellbeing and equity of population groups and communities, as well as bringing additional benefits to their living, social, or working environment (19)(20)(21).…”

“…Exploration is required to understand how the social value and impact of National and Regional Public Health Institutes is, or can be, captured and measured to help promote the wider value of their investment and activities. Previous research has collated existing social value evidence for public health interventions and services ( 19 , 20 ), and a scoping exercise has been undertaken to gather information from SROI experts on how the concept of social value has been used in the field of public health ( 19 ). However, there is currently insufficient evidence which demonstrates the social value of Public Health Institutes and their work across the life course, population groups and settings, in order to make the case for more resources and investment or wider remit of institutes.…”

Five year cost savings of a multimodal treatment program for child sexual abuse (CSA): a social return on investment study

“…Somewhat surprisingly, no previous SROI studies of CSA treatment were located in our search of the literature nor were any identified in a 2020 systemic scoping review [ 19 ]. Overall, we found very few programs aimed at examining child or adolescent mental health more generally.…”