Public Health Nursing Practice Exam 2026 – The Complete Guide to Master Your Certification!

Cost-effectiveness analysis is a systematic approach for comparing the relative expenses and outcomes associated with different interventions or programs. This model is particularly valuable in public health because it not only assesses the costs involved but also evaluates the effectiveness of a program in achieving desired health outcomes.

The essence of cost-effectiveness analysis lies in its ability to determine the cost per unit of health benefit gained, such as years of life saved or improvements in quality of life. This metric helps policymakers and public health administrators understand which interventions provide the best value for the resources invested, ultimately guiding resource allocation to maximize health benefits within budget constraints.

In contrast, other models focus on different aspects of cost analysis. For instance, cost-benefit analysis measures both costs and benefits in monetary terms, which may not always accurately reflect the outcomes in health interventions. Cost-efficiency analysis emphasizes minimizing costs without considering the effectiveness of the outcomes, while the Multi-Attribute Utility Technique is used for weighing decisions across multiple criteria but does not specifically focus on cost in relation to health outcomes. Therefore, cost-effectiveness analysis is specifically designed to assess the costs required to achieve program outcomes effectively, making it the appropriate choice for this question.