Contributing Writer: Urmika Banerjee | May, 2024
Introduction
Public health and medical care is a very diverse concept. There is an important connection between consumer behaviour in public health. People tend to look for different things in healthcare, which obviously depends on their needs. Some people seek medicine in order to prevent diseases. Some might use it to enhance appearance, plastic surgery for instance. Others will use it to improve their well-being and performance.
People who work in this industry, especially marketers, should be able to predict behaviour by looking at the trends, as this will help them understand the motivation and the goals of their customers. This will help the marketers come up with the correct solution for their customers and what type of healthcare will be the best for them, and where they should go. Understanding consumer behaviour is crucial for creating public health policies and initiatives. Consumer behaviour plays an important role in the economic implications of it on public health care, this can be seen by lowering the incidence of chronic diseases and the need for related treatments. Healthy lifestyle choices can lower healthcare expenses. However, unhealthy habits can result in higher healthcare costs for the system as a whole as well as for the people involved. Thus, it is possible to view successful public health initiatives that promote better behaviours as investments that will pay for themselves in the form of lower healthcare costs and a population that is healthier and more productive.
Policymakers and public health experts can create targeted interventions, such as educational campaigns, legislation (such as sugar taxes and tobacco control laws), and incentives for healthy behaviours, by having a thorough understanding of the factors that influence health-related behaviours. The goal of these treatments is to change consumer behaviour in a way that improves population-level health outcomes.
Consumer behaviours economic impact
In a lot of ways, consumer behaviour has had an economic impact. One way to illustrate is the unhealthy life choices consumers make, like poor diets, smoking, and excessive drinking. Due to these habits, chronic diseases might take place like heart disease, cancer, etc. As these chronic diseases are serious, it will lead to long-term management as it will take whilst for them to get treated. These situations lead to direct healthcare expenditures. The primary cause of high healthcare costs is chronic diseases, which are brought on by bad consumer habits. The CDC talks about how smoking, physical inactivity, and unhealthy amounts of drinking could lead to diseases that could cost the nation billions of dollars annually in healthcare expenditures. “In 2017, the total estimated cost of diagnosed diabetes was $327 billion in medical costs and lost productivity”. It has been said that obesity costs are set to rise as well if the current bad health choices continue: “ Obesity costs the US healthcare system nearly $173 billion a year”.
There are indirect costs as well. If someone has a chronic disease like cancer, they will end up having to take days off to get treated, and this will last a long time as chronic diseases are long-term management. Taking days off work will not only affect individual income but also the overall economic output of businesses and the economy. There will also be increased insurance premiums. As widespread unhealthy choices lead to an increased number of chronic diseases, this will lead to higher healthcare claims and higher premiums for all insured individuals. This type of cycle will create a burden for the entire insured community.
The economic effects of consumer behaviour on public health highlight how crucial integrated methods are for promoting health and preventing disease. The goal of policy interventions is to shift consumer behaviour towards healthier options. Examples of these include taxes on tobacco and sugar-sweetened beverages, subsidies for nutritious food, and investments in parks and recreational facilities as well as public health campaigns.
Prevalence
Smoking
The prevalence of smoking in society is a dynamic measure that varies by region, demographic factors, and over time as a result of a variety of reasons such as economic shifts, public health campaigns, and shifts in society perceptions regarding smoking. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 22.3% of people worldwide who are 15 years of age or older currently smoke. This percentage includes both daily and sporadic smokers of cigarettes and other tobacco products. “ In the United States, the prevalence of smoking among adults has shown a downward trend, with variations across different states. For example, in 2018, smoking rates among adults ranged from as low as 9% in Utah to as high as 25.2% in West Virginia” Across the globe, men are more likely than women to smoke. For instance, compared to 7.8% of women worldwide, approximately 36.7% of men smoke. Regional differences may apply to these figures. “It’s noted that over 940 million males and 193 million females aged 15 or older were current smokers in 2019. The prevalence and impact of smoking are influenced significantly by economic development and the effectiveness of tobacco control policies in different countries.”
Drinking
There is no denying the widespread and profound repercussions of alcohol use in society; numerous studies have documented the negative effects on social, health, and economic spheres. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that alcohol abuse causes approximately 3 million deaths each year, or 5.3% of all fatalities. The younger age group (ages 20–39) accounts for a sizable share of these deaths (13.5%), highlighting the detrimental effects of alcohol use in early life. Not to be overlooked are the effects excessive alcohol use has on the economy. In 2010, the expenditures associated with binge drinking in the United States were estimated to be $249 billion. More than 200 diseases and injury conditions are associated with alcohol usage, highlighting the significant influence alcohol plays in worldwide health issues.
Obesity
Globally, the prevalence of obesity in society is a serious health concern. In the next 12 years, if prevention, treatment, and support do not improve, over half of the world’s population will be overweight or obese, according to a global study included in the World Obesity Federation’s World Obesity Atlas 2023. According to the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) State of Obesity 2023, obesity rates have skyrocketed in the last 20 years for every demographic. 890 million adults worldwide were obese in 2022, out of 2.5 billion overweight individuals. The WHO also draws attention to the rising number of children and teenagers who are obese, with over 390 million people between the ages of 5 and 19 being overweight and 160 million of them being obese. Because obesity is linked to an increased risk of several noncommunicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some malignancies, as well as a lower quality of life, its rising prevalence has serious health ramifications.
Cost to individual and others
Smoking
Internal
Smoking has serious and well-documented direct health impacts on people. A number of health issues, including heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are made more likely by smoking. It also has an impact on dental, bone, and fertility health; additionally, it can cause pregnancy problems and negatively impact the health of the foetus. Many people find it difficult to give up smoking due to the addictive nature of nicotine, even if there are established health hazards.
External
Heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory disorders are among the health problems that nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke can experience in a similar way as smokers. Children who are exposed to this risk have a heightened risk of developing asthma, respiratory infections, etc. The cost of treating ailments linked to smoking places a heavy financial load on healthcare systems. Every year, smoking-related illnesses in the US cost more than $300 billion, including over $225 billion for adult direct medical treatment and over $156 billion in lost productivity from early mortality.
Drinking
Internal
Individually, drinking alcohol has been connected to over 200 illnesses and injuries. It plays a significant role in a number of illnesses, including alcoholism, mental and behavioural disorders, liver cirrhosis, and several malignancies. Three million deaths globally are attributed to alcohol abuse each year, accounting for 5.3% of all fatalities. Furthermore, 13.5% of all deaths among younger demographics, especially those between the ages of 20 and 39, may be attributed to alcohol use, underscoring the relatively early age at which alcohol consumption can result in death and disability.
External
There are also important socioeconomic externalities associated with alcohol use. Premature death decreases productivity from presenteeism and absenteeism, jail, job loss or early retirement, and costs related to crime, such as victim time lost, are examples of indirect costs. These externalities highlight the social problem that unhealthy alcohol consumption has by having a broad effect on the person drinking as well as their friends, family, coworkers, and even complete strangers.
Obesity
Internal
Obesity has a substantial negative influence on health on an individual basis, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. In addition, it may result in mobility problems, physical discomfort, and psychological side effects like despair and low self-esteem. Individuals face a substantial financial burden as a result of rising healthcare expenditures and possible income loss from illness or incapacity. Dietary and physical activity changes are essential for both managing and preventing obesity.
External
Both direct and indirect costs, such as medical expenses and lost output from presenteeism, absenteeism, incarceration, early retirement, and crime-related costs, are a result of obesity’s economic impact. Pain, suffering, and a decline in one’s quality of life are examples of intangible costs. Obesity-related diseases come in many forms and have a substantial financial impact. Obesity has a significant total economic impact, which emphasizes the necessity for efficient obesity management and prevention measures.
Strategies for improvement
There are different economic policy interventions that can take place in order to encourage healthier consumer behaviour and mitigate the economic impact. One of the ways could be placing taxes on sugary drinks as this could reduce the demand for sugary drinks whilst generating revenue that could be reinvested in public health initiatives. In 2014, Mexico placed taxes on sugary drinks that led to a decrease in consumption of sugary drinks.
Before and after effect of the Tax being implemented in Mexico
There can also be subsidies for healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, which can be applied at the point of sale, and this could increase the demand for healthy food. Programs like SNAP offer benefits when you purchase healthy food. This means in addition to buying food that improves your health you would also get added benefits that would improve the consumption of healthy food and reduce the medical costs. Another way could be regulating how and when unhealthy foods can be marketed, especially to kids, as they tend to find unhealthy food more fit to their taste and if kids get addicted to unhealthy food when they’re still that young, this could end up causing a problem later in life which could lead to chronic disease. Certain policies that could be placed in order to avoid something like this could be the banning of advertisements for junk food on any children’s tv channel and banning them within a certain distance of schools.
In order to educate or spread awareness, Public health campaigns can take place that would raise awareness about the health risks associated with poor diets. Another way could be introducing school-based nutrition education and installing that type of curriculum, which would teach kids to instil healthy habits from a young age that could help avoid chronic diseases in the future. There can also be community engagement programs that would involve community members in the planning or the launching of health-promoting activities, such as cooking classes and group exercises, and this would help improve the health knowledge of and behaviour towards healthy choices in the community. If one community is healthy, other communities would also be encouraged to implement programs to achieve the same results or higher. The healthier a community, the higher the productivity, which increases the financial strength of that community. It is feasible to establish an environment that encourages healthy consumer behaviours and lessens the financial and public health cost of diet- and lifestyle-related diseases by combining legislative measures with education and awareness campaigns.
Conclusion
In summary, addressing the financial implications of consumer behaviour on public health necessitates thoughtful policy and outreach initiatives. Taxing sugary drinks, as is the case in Mexico, effectively lowers harmful consumption, while healthy food subsidies promote healthier eating habits. For the purpose of establishing lifetime healthy behaviours, nutrition awareness education initiatives and curricula in schools are essential. These combined strategies seek to promote a healthier, more productive society in addition to reducing healthcare expenses associated with lifestyle disorders. Making educated decisions and preventing these problems from arising in the first place are crucial for long-term improvements in public health.
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