Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of incentives as a tool for prevention of non-communicable diseases: A systematic review

The rising epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) poses substantial health and economic challenges to both individuals and society. Application of incentive-based strategies based on traditional and behavioural economic theory has emerged as a potential strategy to address rising rates of NCDs. Yet, whether or not incentives truly represent a promising strategy for addressing NCDs has not been systematically addressed nor is it clear whether certain behavioural economic strategies outperform others or simply offering a cash-based incentive for meeting a goal. In this systematic review we aim to determine whether there is an evidence base for any of these strategies. Forty-eight published randomized controlled trials (70 contrasts) evaluating the effectiveness of incentive-based strategies for improvements in NCD risk-factors were reviewed. Our primary conclusion is that there is a lack of compelling evidence that incentives of any form represent a compelling NCD reduction strategy. More evidence for long-term effectiveness and cost-effectiveness is needed to justify third party funding of any incentive based strategy

The economic burden of overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabia

ContextThe prevalence of overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabia has been rising. Although the health burden of excess weight is well established, little is known about the economic burden.AimsTo assess the economic burden-both direct medical costs and the value of absenteeism and presenteeism-resulting from overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabia.Settings and designThe cost of overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabia was estimated from a societal perspective using an epidemiologic approach.Methods and materialsData were obtained from previously published studies and secondary databases.Statistical analysis usedOverweight/obesity-attributable costs were calculated for six major noncommunicable diseases; sensitivity analyses were conducted for key model parameters.ResultsThe impact of overweight and obesity for these diseases is found to directly cost a total of $3.8 billion, equal to 4.3 percent of total health expenditures in Saudi Arabia in 2019. Estimated overweight and obesity-attributable absenteeism and presenteeism costs a total of$15.5 billion, equal to 0.9 percent of GDP in 2019.ConclusionsEven when limited to six diseases and a subset of total indirect costs, results indicate that overweight and obesity are a significant economic burden in Saudi Arabia. Future studies should identify strategies to reduce the health and economic burden resulting from excess weight in Saudi Arabia

The impact of seven major noncommunicable diseases on direct medical costs, absenteeism, and presenteeism in Gulf Cooperation Council countries

10.1080/13696998.2021.1945242Journal of Medical Economics241828-83