Why invest in a national public health program for stroke?. An example using Australian data to estimate the potential benefits and cost implications

Abstract

Objectives: Stroke is the world's second leading cause of death in people aged over 60 years. Approximately 50,000 strokes occur annually in Australia with numbers predicted to increase by about one third over 10-years. Our objectives were to assess the economic implications of a public health program for stroke by: (1) predicting what potential health-gains and cost-offsets could be achieved; and (2) determining the net level of annual investment that would offer value-for-money. Methods: Lifetime costs and outcomes were calculated for additional cases that would benefit if 'current practice' was feasibly improved, estimated for one indicative year using: (i) local epidemiological data, cov..