PHE highlights 8 ways for local areas to prevent mental ill health
We have a session at the RSN Conference on social impact measurement and I thought this article might give an interesting foretaste of the increasing importance of the SROI skill – in this case in a public health context. We all know that mental ill health affects rural England – here are some numbers to go into the mix:
Public Health England (PHE) has today (30 August 2017) launched a ground breaking new tool for local public health teams identifying the most cost effective mental health programmes. One of these 8 initiatives is an innovative resilience programme in schools that results in an estimated saving of £5.08 for every £1 invested (over 3 years).
The tool was developed in partnership with leading economists at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). The programmes it identifies are proven to reduce the incidence and/or risk of mental health problems at all stages of life: children and young people, the working age population and older people. Mental health problems represent the largest single cause of disability in the UK. The cost to the economy is estimated at £105 billion a year.
The full list of programmes identified in the Return on Investment tool are:
- Children: whole school anti bullying programme – every £1 invested results in an estimated saving to society of £1.58 (over 4 years)
- Children: social and emotional learning – every £1 invested results in an estimated saving to society of £5.08 (over 3 years)
- Workplace: wellbeing programme – every £1 invested results in an estimated saving to society of £2.37 (over 1 year)
- Workplace: stress prevention – every £1 invested results in an estimated saving to society of £2.00 (over 2 years)
- Collaborative care for physical health problems – every £1 invested results in an estimated saving to society of £1.52 (over 2 years)
- Older people: tackling loneliness through volunteering and social activities – every £1 invested results in an estimated saving to society of £1.26 (over 5 years)
- Adults: debt and welfare service – every £1 invested results in an estimated saving to society of £2.60 (over 5 years)
- Adults: suicide prevention – every £1 invested results in an estimated saving to society of £2.93 (over 10 years)