Designed with strong relevance to Australian universities and the public health sector, the book bridges the gap between economic theory and real-world decision making. It provides applied tools to assess the value, cost-effectiveness, and broader impact of public health programs and policy interventions.
As noted by Professor Chaiechi, "Health systems are constantly asked to do more with limited resources. This book is about equipping decision-makers with practical methods they can actually use to make transparent, defensible, and evidence-based choices."
Key approaches that are covered include cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility and cost-benefit frameworks, return on investment (ROI), social return on investment (SROI), and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). It also introduces modern modelling techniques such as Markov models, which are increasingly used in public health economic evaluation.
Importantly, the book is written to be accessible to readers without extensive economics training, using real-world case studies, policy insights, and discussion prompts to support practical application.
Published as an openly available resource through the James Cook University Open eBooks Program, the book reflects a commitment to impact, outreach, and knowledge without boundaries, ensuring evidence-based health economics are freely accessible to inform public health decision-making.
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