Social Policies Might Not Only Improve Economic Well-Being, But Also Health

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."

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