6.3: Interventions

Last updated
Save as PDF

Page ID: 304235

$ \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } $

$ \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} $

$ \newcommand{\dsum}{\displaystyle\sum\limits} $

$ \newcommand{\dint}{\displaystyle\int\limits} $

$ \newcommand{\dlim}{\displaystyle\lim\limits} $

$ \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}$ $ \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}$

( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) $ \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}$

$ \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}$ $ \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}$

$ \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}$ $ \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}$

$ \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}$

$ \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}$

$ \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}$

$ \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}$

$ \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}$

$ \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}$

$ \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}$

$ \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}$

$ \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}$

$ \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}$

$ \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}$

$ \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}$ $ \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}$

$ \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}} % arrow$

$ \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}} % arrow$

$ \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } $

$ \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} $

$ \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} $

$ \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} $

$ \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} $

$ \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } $

$\newcommand{\longvect}{\overrightarrow}$

$ \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} $

$\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}$ $\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}$ $\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}$ $\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}$ $\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}$ $\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}$ $\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}$ $\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}$ $\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}$ $\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}$ $\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}$ $\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}$ $\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}$ $\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}$ $\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}$ $\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}$ $\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}$ $\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}$ $\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}$ $\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}$ $\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}$ $\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}$ $\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}$ $\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}$ $\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}$ $\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}$ $\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}$ $\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}$ $\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}$ $\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}$ $\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}$ $\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}$ $\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}$ $\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}$ $\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}$ $\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}$ $\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}$ $\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}$ $\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}$ $\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}$ $\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}$ $\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}$ $\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}$ $\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}$ $\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}$ $\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}$ $\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}$ $\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}$ $\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}$ $\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}$ $\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}$ $\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}$ $\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}$ $\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}$ $\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}$ $\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}$ $\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}$ $\newcommand{\lt}{<}$ $\newcommand{\gt}{>}$ $\newcommand{\amp}{&}$ $\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}$

Multiple risk factor reduction intervention

A type of intervention called multiple risk factor reduction aims to address multiple risk factors simultaneously. This type of intervention is most effective when there are group risk factors within a group, or when the risk factors together increase the impact more (sometimes even exponentially) than each risk factor measured alone.

An example of multiple risk factor reduction for heart health involves a person simultaneously quitting smoking, improving their diet, becoming more physically active, losing weight, and managing high blood pressure and high cholesterol through lifestyle changes and, if necessary, medication. This combined approach aims to significantly lower the overall risk of heart attack and stroke more effectively than addressing each risk factor individually (Ebrahim et al., 2006).

Another example of multiple risk factor reduction is the combination of asbestos exposure and cigarette smoking, which severely multiplies the incidence of lung cancer by 50%. If one stops smoking, the incidence declines to 5% (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2025 p140).

Cost-effective Interventions

Healthcare aims to offer patients interventions that provide the greatest benefits at the lowest cost, meaning lower costs and greater effectiveness. An intervention that is always cost-effective is one that reduces the cost while increasing the net-benefit.

An example of a cost-effective intervention is the childhood vaccination program; the cost of implementing the program is less than the medical and productivity costs averted, making it cost-saving (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024).
Action	Cost (negative value means cost savings)
Implementation of the childhood vaccination program	$7.5 Billion
Anticipated medical costs & productivity losses	$76.4 Billion
Net costs	-$68.9 Billion

Note that most experts on cost-effectiveness prefer to use the QALYs (quality-adjusted life years) to measure cost-effectiveness. A QALYs may be interpreted as a year of life at full health compared to immediate death; it takes into account the number of life-years saved. In cost-effectiveness analysis, a cost of less than $50,000 per additional QALY is often considered cost-effective in the United States (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2025, p. 142).

Combining Healthcare and Public Health Intervention

Combining healthcare and public health approaches is effective because it leverages the strengths of both to improve population health by integrating individual-level care with population-level prevention, promoting health equity, and fostering a comprehensive understanding of health needs through shared data and goals (Choi et al., 2022). An example of this application is the opioid crisis. In the 1990s, a new prescription for pain relief entered the market, and we have now been seeing the long-term effects of its use. Many people became addicted to the legally prescribed painkiller, leading to today's overdose of 100,000 per year (this number is close to as many as motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and homicide cases together!) (Rigelman & Kirkwood, 2025 p144). One strategy to help decrease overdose is to work with clinicians to abstain from prescribing it and provide strategies to the population to help taper off the addiction.

Reference

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Cost-effectiveness Analysis. CDC www.cdc.gov

Choi, B.C.K., King, A.S., Graham, K., Bilotta, R., Selby, P., Harvey, B.J., Gupta, N., Morris, S.K., Young, E., Buklis, P., Reynolds, D.L., Rachlis, B., & Upshur, R. (2022). Clinical public health: harnessing the best of both worlds in sickness and in health. Health Promotion Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada. Oct;42(10):440-444. doi: 10.24095/hpcdp.42.10.03

Ebrahim, S., Beswick, A., Burke, M., & Smith, G. D. (2006). Multiple risk factor interventions for primary prevention of coronary heart disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006 Oct 18;(4): CD001561 doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001561.pub2

Riegelman, R. & Kirkwood, B. (2025). Public health 101: Improving community health (4th ed). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.

Search

Text Color

Text Size

Margin Size

Font Type