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posted by Fnord666 on Friday March 20 2020, @12:25PM   Printer-friendly

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

A comprehensive review of U.S. social policies evaluated for their health outcomes found suggestive evidence that early life, income, and health insurance interventions have the potential to improve health. Scientists have long known that "social" risk factors, like poverty, are correlated with health. However, until this study, there was little research carried out to understand whether it was actually possible to improve population health by addressing these risk factors with social policies. The findings are published in The Milbank Quarterly, a multidisciplinary journal of population health and health policy published by the Milbank Memorial Fund.

"Since the 1960s, a large number of social policies that have been experimentally evaluated include health outcomes, but these were mostly overlooked. By tracking down these studies, we found a unique opportunity to inform evidence-based policymaking. It was sitting right there in front of us this whole time," said Peter Muennig, MD, a professor of Health Policy and Management at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. "Our goal was to conduct a comprehensive review of experimental studies of social and economic interventions that were not explicitly designed for the purpose of improving the health of participants. Health outcomes were often added as an afterthought and were overlooked." He added, "This is remarkable given the magnitude of expenditures in the nonmedical determinants of health in the United States and the weak evidence base supporting these investments."

The systematic review of all known randomized social experiments in the United States that involved health outcomes included 5,876 papers, reports, and data sources, ultimately encompassing 60 papers, reports, or datasets from 38 randomized social experiments. These experiments spanned the period 1962-2018 and featured a range of policies, analytic approaches, and target groups and measured a wide variety of health outcomes.

The final analysis was based on a sample of 450 unique health estimates across the 38 interventions. Of these, 77% were not able to reliably detect health outcomes because the sample was too small. Among those from which reliable estimates could be obtained, 49% demonstrated a significant health improvement, 44% had no effect on health, and 7% were associated with significant worsening of health. The most commonly reported outcome was mental health.

[...] "Our study is exciting because it shows for the first time that it is possible for the government to improve health by making investments outside of the health system. The strong investments made by peer nations in welfare may explain why they have left the United States in the dust with respect to health and longevity. Still, policymakers need to be careful about how they make these investments, because they also have the potential to do harm."

More information: Emilie Courtin et al. Can Social Policies Improve Health? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 38 Randomized Trials, The Milbank Quarterly (2020). DOI: 10.1111/1468-0009.12451

Journal information: Milbank Quarterly


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by opinionated_science on Friday March 20 2020, @01:54PM (1 child)

    by opinionated_science (4031) on Friday March 20 2020, @01:54PM (#973481)

    kinda obvious like so much today. We had centuries of misery replaced by super tech, if you can afford it.

    100 years ago the richest on the planet didn't have what the millenials have in their pockets.

    Life is short and very finite - allowing a human time to look after themselves and family without working 80 hours/week is common sense.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @07:39PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @07:39PM (#973601)

    > 100 years ago the richest on the planet didn't have what the millenials have in their pockets.
    Here is what the rich today value :
    Handcrafted clothing
    Fresh cooked meals
    Live entertainment
    Servants
    Personal transport in luxury

    Holy shit, same as ancient times