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Evidence of intervention effectiveness & cost-effectiveness

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Evidence of intervention effectiveness & cost-effectiveness

Overview

Research evidence, where available and of good quality, is an important component of decision making. We aim to make this type of evidence more accessible to decision makers by providing short summaries of relevant existing research that also consider the possible application of the research to policy and practice. The types of summaries that will become available in the short term are known as rapid reviews and evidence summaries. Results of relevant cost-effectiveness, cost-utility or cost-benefit analyses are also included.

Rapid reviews

A rapid review is a brief synthesis and judgement of the available research evidence related to a specific question posed by policy officers. The research evidence is drawn primarily from existing systematic reviews, meta-analyses and economic evaluations. Therefore, more recent published trials, trials in progress and unpublished (grey) literature are generally not included in the review. Rapid reviews are usually conducted by senior researchers with expertise in the particular field of research.

Published rapid reviews include:

Evidence summaries

An evidence summary is a short summary of the best available evidence on a defined question. It aims to help policy makers and practitioners use the best available evidence in their decision-making about interventions. These evidence summaries are written within government. For more information see Guidelines for evidence summaries for health promotion and disease prevention interventions.

Community engagement: an evidence summary

Evidence summaries - with implications for policy and practice

These evidence summaries include implications for policy and practice. For more information see Guidelines for evidence summaries for health promotion and disease prevention interventions - with implications for policy and practice.

Getting children aged 5 to 12 years to eat more fruit and vegetables - an evidence summary (444kb, pdf)

Increasing healthy eating for children aged 4-6 months to 4 years - an evidence summary (367kb, pdf)

Evidence-based resources

These publications use current evidence in each field and contain a critical appraisal of the findings. Recommendations for implementation are made to assist health promotion funders, planners and practitioners requiring an evidence base for their work.

Topics covered by the evidence-based resource program include:

oral health
adolescent health
falls prevention
child injury prevention
healthy eating for children
body image
cardiovascular disease & type 2 diabetes
mental health promotion.

Please note that some of these documents are more than 5 years old and the research may have progressed since then.

Other evidence syntheses

These syntheses use a variety of methods to summarise the evidence on a particular topic. These syntheses are written within or for government. Topics include:

Cost-effectiveness

The Assessing Cost-Effectiveness (ACE) projects measured the cost-utility (net cost per disability-adjusted life year saved) of various interventions, using consistent methodology. The results of two projects can be accessed here:

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Last updated: 25 January 2011
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