Alcohol abuse prevention in young people: An economic simulation

Abstract

Severe alcohol abuse can lead to death and disability. A large number of educational programmes for young people's drinking behaviour have been developed to counteract alcohol abuse. The aim of this research was to assess whether those programmes are rational from an economic point of view. It relies on a systematic review of economic evaluation analysis providing evidence on the status of those programmes. Only one study met all the inclusion criteria. This result suggested the performance of an economic evaluation of secondary data. A second systematic literature review with different inclusion criteria was therefore carried out. Nine studies met the inclusion criteria, but only three provided evidence of effectiveness. According to our simulations, if the interventions are effective they are also cost-effective. In other words if they can provide evidence of a decrease in alcohol use and abuse they can also provide evidence that the interventions are rational from an economic point of view. The review suggests two final comments. First, the current investment in preventive programmes is very limited. Secondly, larger studies and more adequate systems of evaluation are needed to provide scientific evidence of the impact of preventive educational strategies on alcohol abuse in young people.

Keywords:

• Alcohol
• prevention
• review

Acknowledgement

This research has been funded by the European Forum for Responsible Drinking (EFRD).