Reducing injuries among Native Americans: Five cost-outcome analyses

Abstract

This paper presents cost-outcome analyses of five injury prevention efforts in Native American jurisdictions: a safety-belt program, a streetlight project, a livestock control project, a drowning prevention program, and a suicide prevention and intervention program. Pre- and post-intervention data were analyzed to estimate projects' impact on injury reduction. Projects' costs were amortized over the time period covered by the evaluation or over the useful life of physical capital invested. Projects' savings were calculated based on estimated reduction in medical and public program expenses, on estimated decrease in lost productivity, and on estimated quality adjusted life years saved. All projects yielded positive benefit-cost ratios. The net cost per quality adjusted life years was less than zero (i.e. the monetary savings exceeded project costs) for all but one of the projects. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.