There is currently a massive research-policy gap. Even though social policy-makers are encouraged to consult existing research when choosing which interventions to implement, this is rarely done in practice.
To reduce the research-policy gap, we created an open access online Value for Money Evidence Portal. Users of this portal can select health outcomes they are interested in (e.g., acute diarrhea and neonatal mortality). The portal will then present the most rigorous scientific evidence currently available on the value for money of a large range of interventions that aim to improve these health outcomes. Below is an example of the kind of output the portal displays:
The value for money estimates indicate the EUROs a decision maker needs to spend in order to avert 1 DALY (disability adjusted life years, this provides an indication of the relative burden and prevalence of a given disease) through a specific intervention in a geographical region. For example, we have estimated that improving water quality at its source in Sub Saharan Africa for reducing diarrhea rates costs 1088 EUR per averted DALY, while providing health education to communities for reducing diarrhea rates only costs 24 EUR per averted DALY.
This online portal allows policy-makers to easily assess the scientific evidence behind a large range of public health interventions. It helps them with choosing how to invest their money in order to select interventions that will have the largest possible impact on health outcomes. For more information on how the portal works from the perspective of the user, please consult our 10-minute video and more detailed information on the Giving for Impact website. The evidence portal is co-funded by a grant from the Erasmus Trustfonds.
