Improving Schools Results in Greater Health Impact than Most Medical and Public Health Interventions

Simpler interventions that reach more people pay off in the end. Complex medical interventions for the very sick or public health interventions following the high-risk model have a much more limited impact.

clipped from fridayletter.asph.org Reducing the number of students per classroom in U.S. primary schools may be more cost-effective than most public health and medical interventions, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Virginia Commonwealth University. The study indicates that class-size reductions would generate more quality-adjusted life-year gains per dollar invested than the majority of medical interventions.