Suchergebnisse

It is well documented that alcohol-related problems compromise individual and social health, and wellbeing (Homel, McIlwain & Carvolth 2004). However, much of the burden of such problems is initially born by first response and public emergency services including police, ambulance and hospital emergency departments (Collins & Lapsley 2002). The individual harms are numerous, including premature death, loss of enjoyment and loss of social utility through fear of crime and victimisation (ADCA 2000). Further, alcohol misuse is a problem for business that suffers due to lost worker productivity and absenteeism (Collins & Lapsley 2002). The misuse of alcohol, particularly among those most at risk in our community, presents a major challenge for all levels of government. How to effectively and efficiently moderate the high costs associated with risky drinking behaviour (eg binge drinking or drinking in high-risk areas such as entertainment districts) by young people has been a recent focus of policymakers. Not all alcohol use represents misuse; rather, misuse comprises use that is above the recommended limits in particular contexts (such as driving or use of equipment), use at levels that leads to health-related problems and use that has reached the level where dependency exists (NHS UK 2013). Results from a national-level study on the societal costs of alcohol-related problems in Australia are presented. These costs are based on 2010 data supplied from various agencies (eg Australian policing services, Australian Bureau of Statistics) and empirical evidence from peer-reviewed published papers. Incident data, together with estimates of rate of occurrence (eg percentage of all incidents attended by police that were found to be alcohol related) from empirical studies and cost estimates from past literature are used to generate a total cost estimate. All costs are adjusted where necessary to reflect present value in 2010 Australian dollars. The results include costs to the criminal justice system, costs to the health system, costs resulting from lost productivity and costs related to alcohol-related road accidents. They do not include self-reported assessments of costs (cf Laslett et al. 2010) but rather verifiable costs from objective sources. As such, the costs reported here can be regarded as conservative.

Taenia solium is a zoonotic parasite prevalent in many low income countries throughout Latin America, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, including Tanzania. The parasite is recognized as a public health threat; however the burden it poses on populations of Tanzania is unknown. The aim of this study was to estimate the societal cost of T. solium cysticercosis in Tanzania, by assessing both the health and economic burden. The societal cost of T. solium cysticercosis was assessed in humans and pigs based on data obtained by a systematic review. Experts' opinion was sought in cases where data were not retrievable. The health burden was assessed in terms of annual number of neurocysticercosis (NCC) associated epilepsy incident cases, deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), while the economic burden was assessed in terms of direct and indirect costs imposed by NCC-associated epilepsy and potential losses due to porcine cysticercosis. Based on data retrieved from the systematic review and burden assessments, T. solium cysticercosis contributed to a significant societal cost for the population. The annual number of NCC-associated epilepsy incident cases and deaths were 17,853 (95% Uncertainty Interval (UI), 5666-36,227) and 212 (95% UI, 37-612), respectively. More than 11% (95% UI, 6.3-17) of the pig population was infected with the parasite when using tongue examination as diagnostic method. For the year 2012 the number of DALYs per thousand person-years for NCC-associated epilepsy was 0.7 (95% UI, 0.2-1.6). Around 5 million USD (95% UI, 797,535-16,933,477) were spent due to NCC-associated epilepsy and nearly 3 million USD (95% UI, 1,095,960-5,366,038) were potentially lost due to porcine cysticercosis. Our results show that T. solium imposes a serious public health, agricultural and economic threat for Tanzania. We urge that a One Health approach, which involves the joint collaboration and effort of veterinarians, medical doctors, agricultural extension officers, researchers and relevant governmental agencies, is taken to find sustainable solutions for prevention, control and elimination of T. solium.

Methamphetamine (meth) use results in various costs accruing to the meth user, society, and government. Internal and external costs of the pandemic are widespread, affecting the healthcare and social welfare systems, policing, private security, and the judicial and corrective services system. This study quantifies these costs for the Western Cape; identifying the magnitude of the cost of illness and additional social costs by category and determines which interventions are likely to reduce these overall costs. This study used a combination of a top-down and a bottom-up approach for the costing of various categories. The meth prevalence rate used was derived from the number of primary meth users who sought meth treatment in 2013 as reported to SACENDU. Additional data on expenditure and costs were obtained from government annual reports, personal interviews and data from previous studies.

English World fisheries are characterized by ecological, economic and social costs which are not taken into account by current market mechanisms. However, the sustainability of ecosystems and fishing activities depends on their being taken into account in order to arrive at the most appropriate management decisions. The European research programme ECOST (Ecosystem, Society, Consilience and Precautionary Principle: Development of an Assessment Method of the Societal Cost for Best Fishing Practices and Efficient Public Policies) develops an integrative approach to the various costs generated by fishing activities. In doing so it seeks to develop a decision-making tool which can contribute to the success of the Plan of Implementation proposed at the Johannesburg summit. French Les pêcheries mondiales sont caractérisées par des coûts écologiques, économiques et sociaux qui ne sont pas pris en compte par les mécanismes de marchés actuels. Or la pérennité des écosystèmes et des activités de pêche dépend de leur prise en compte afin de prendre les décisions d'aménagement les plus appropriées. Le programme de recherche européen en coopération ECOST (Ecosystèmes, société, consilience et principe de précaution: développement d'une méthode d'évaluation des coûts sociétaux pour parvenir à des pratiques de pêche et des politiques publiques durables) développe une approche intégrative des différents coûts engendrés par les activités de pêche ainsi que les politiques publiques. Il tend de la sorte à développer un outil d'aide à la décision pouvant contribuer à la réussite du plan d'implémentation du sommet de Johannesbourg.

Control of societal costs can be addressed through clinician education, value‐based guidelines and pathways, formulary restrictions, payment reform, and government regulatory decisions but should not be imposed on patients at the point of decision‐making in the cancer clinic.

This summary article compares government revenue from the sale and distribution of alcohol to the societal costs caused by alcohol use for the year 2014. Statistics Canada data reported government revenue of $10.9 billion; however, this was offset by net societal costs of $14.6 billion, as reported by Canada's national substance use surveillance system, the Canadian Substance Use Costs and Harms project. The societal costs include health care, economic loss of production, criminal justice and other direct costs. Though revenue from alcohol sales has been described as a benefit to public coffers, accounting that includes costs incurred shows that all provinces and territories in Canada are running an alcohol deficit, totalling $3.7 billion nationally.