If Public Health is the science and art of how society collectively aims to improve health, and reduce inequalities in health, then Public Health Economics is the science and art of supporting decision making as to how society can use its available resources to best meet these objectives and minimise opportunity cost. A systematic review of published guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions within this broad public policy paradigm was conducted.

There is growing interest in developing non-pharmacological treatments to address the cognitive deficits apparent in Parkinson’s disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. Cognitive rehabilitation is a goal-oriented behavioural intervention which focuses on improving everyday functioning through management of cognitive difficulties; it has been shown to be effective in Alzheimer’s disease. To date, no studies have assessed its potential efficacy for addressing the impact of cognitive impairment in people with Parkinson’s disease or dementia with Lewy bodies. Participants (n = 45) will be recruited from movement disorders, care for the elderly and memory clinics. Inclusion criteria include: a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, Parkinson’s disease dementia or dementia with Lewy bodies according to consensus criteria and an Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination – III score of ≤ 82. Exclusion criteria include: a diagnosis of any other significant neurological condition; major psychiatric disorder, including depression, which is not related to the patient’s Parkinson’s disease and unstable medication use for their physical or cognitive symptoms. A single-blind pilot randomised controlled trial, with concurrent economic evaluation, will compare the relative efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation with that of two control conditions. Following a goal-setting interview, the participants will be randomised to one of the three study arms: cognitive rehabilitation (eight weekly sessions), relaxation therapy (eight weekly sessions) or treatment as usual. Randomisation and treatment group allocation will be carried out by a clinical trials unit using a dynamic adaptive sequential randomisation algorithm. The primary outcomes are patients’ perceived goal attainment at a 2-months post-intervention assessment and a 6-months follow-up. Secondary outcomes include patients’ objective cognitive performance (on tests of memory and executive function) and satisfaction with goal attainment, carers’ perception of patients’ goal attainment and patients’ and carers’ health status and psychosocial well-being, measured at the same time points. Cost-effectiveness will be examined to explore the design of a larger cost-effectiveness analysis alongside a full trial. This pilot study will evaluate the application of cognitive rehabilitation for the management of cognitive difficulties associated with Parkinson’s disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. The results of the study will inform the design of a fully powered randomised controlled trial. ISRCTN16584442 DOI 10.1186/ISRCTN16584442 13 April 2015

BackgroundAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are known to cause an array of diseases later in the life course [1]. However, there have been to date no studies that explicitly look at the costs of ACEs to society. Insofar as ACEs have an association with such diseases as cancer it is considered a worthwhile exercise to attempt to put a financial cost on these diseases and to calculate how much of this cost is attributable to ACEs. This is to make the case for investing in early years and linking services across sectors e.g. health, social care, crime and justice etc. so that the balance of spending is shifted towards prevention. Such information is useful for evidence-based policy making.MethodsThis systematic review follows the design, methods and processes of the Campbell and Cochrane Economics Method Group (CCEMG) [2]. The JSTOR, PubMed, Web of Science, Medline, Embase and PsycInfo electronic databases were extensively searched with relevant search terms. ResultsThe review is divided into two parts, the first part looking at odds ratios of the five disease types that link ACEs with these diseases. We then calculate the likelihood of how much of a particular disease is caused by certain ACEs and present these in tables. The second part of the review looks at cost of illness studies for the five highest expenditure disease types in the UK. These are Mental Disorders, Circulatory disorders, cancer, muscoskeletal disorders and genitourinary disorders. The results are presented in a tabular format by taking costs of illness from different studies and presenting them all, converted to GBP and 2020 figures, in an accessible format. The most striking figure in the odds ratios part is the relationship between sexual abuse and psychosis at 15.47 signifying a strong relationship and a suggestion that interventions to reduce psychosis might well benefit from concentrating on tackling sexual abuse. In terms of cost, we see that the lowest costs are those that do not consider indirect costs and only report direct medical expenditure. ConclusionThe information gathered here will serve as the basis to look at the relationship between cost of illness and adverse childhood experiences. The results of this paper will be useful to those who wish to use the odds ratios (after converting into relative risk ratios) to calculate population attributable fractions associated with each ACE so that they are able to calculate the percentage of each disease that is caused by certain ACEs. This percentage can then be applied to the costs gleaned from part 2 of this review to arrive at a cost that can be attributed to certain ACEs.

United Kingdom (UK) public health policy increasingly emphasises integrated, community-based whole-system approaches that prioritise social prescribing to promote mental wellbeing and support individuals awaiting formal clinical services. While yoga is known to improve personal wellbeing, its specific social value remains under-researched. This study evaluated the social impact of a five-week Dru Yoga Wellbeing (DYW) Programme for UK participants with mild-to-moderate mental health challenges.Adopting a Social Return on Investment (SROI) framework, this study evaluated a five-week social prescribing intervention. The programme was developed through a collaborative design process with nine regional instructors to ensure local relevance and then subsequently delivered across nine UK locations between July and October 2025. Quantitative outcomes (n = 59; 41 complete cases) were monetised via the UK Social Value Bank and UK Mental Wellbeing Bank. To provide a holistic perspective, the quantitative data were triangulated with qualitative insights from questionnaires (n = 40) and semi-structured interviews (n = 9), which were analysed using a thematic biopsychosocial framework. The SROI analysis for the DYW Programme adhered to the standard Cabinet Office methodology, incorporating adjustments for deadweight, attribution, displacement, and drop-off to ensure the robustness of the findings.Quantitative analysis revealed substantial pre- to post-intervention improvements across all measured outcomes, including life satisfaction, mental wellbeing, and anxiety reduction. Qualitatively, thematic analysis identified key biopsychosocial outcomes: psychological improvement, enhanced social connection, and improved physical wellbeing. Qualitative data provided a deeper narrative of how the programme mitigated anxiety and increased wellbeing.Overall, the DYW Programme delivered a positive return on investment, generating between £3.11 and £3.60 in social value for every £1 spent. The alignment of quantitative SROI ratios with qualitative biopsychosocial outcomes suggests the programme can be a high-value preventative service, well-suited for integration into regional social prescribing pathways. By shifting the focus from clinical pathology toward participant empowerment, the DYW Programme applies community psychological principles to support local mental health.