The Social and Economic Value of Health An innovative research programme to investigate the impact of health on society and the economy

Social and Economic Value of Health Research Programme 2019

The Health Foundation’s £1.5m Social and Economic Value of Health in a Place Research Programme 2019 invites researchers to submit ideas for research that will generate new knowledge on the ways in which the physical and mental health of a population shapes their social and economic outcomes.

Economic and social factors have a complex, dynamic and multidirectional relationship with health. While much is known about the impact of social and economic factors on health outcomes, ie the wider determinants of health, relatively little is understood about the impact of health on the social and economic outcomes of individuals and populations. 

Social and Economic Value of Health in a Place research programme seeks to understand the extent to which the health of a population (physical and/or mental) shapes the social and economic outcomes of that population.

We want to support five projects with funding between £200,000 and £300,000 for a maximum duration of two years. 

These projects will develop the concepts and metrics needed to help understand how the health status of a population may influence the social and economic outcomes of that population.

The priority areas for this call are:

• understanding the relationship between a given population’s health and the health of individuals within that population
• establishing the definitions and metrics needed to examine the relationship between the health of a population in a place and the social and economic outcomes of that place.

This research call builds upon our existing research in this area. Our Social and Economic Value of Health programme is already supporting six research projects to explore this relationship from the perspective of individuals. 

The application process

This programme closed for applications on Thursday 25 July 2019. 

Please note: If you have any queries about the programme or application process which have not been answered in our Frequently asked questions, please email: valueofhealthinaplace@health.org.uk

Social and Economic Value of Health Research Programme 2017

We are currently funding six projects under the first round of this programme. 

Aims of the programme

This Health Foundation programme aims to generate new knowledge and expand our understanding of the impact that a person’s physical and/or mental health has on their own economic and social outcomes over the medium to long term.

The programme will help develop understanding of the economic and social case for investing in strategies that maintain, protect and create health more broadly than through investment in health care, by reframing health as an asset that can potentially deliver wider economic and social returns on investment.

Projects

We are funding six projects with between £150,000 and £350,000. They will each run for up to three years.

The projects span a range of age groups and different social and economic outcomes:

• Social and economic consequences of health status: causal inference methods and longitudinal, intergenerational data
  University of Bristol
  This project will test how health status changes across the life course and between generations, and will estimate the social and economic return on maintaining good health.

• Life course impacts of health status on social and economic outcomes and transitions
  Loughborough University
  Using longitudinal data, this project will identify how variations in the mental and physical health of individuals shape their social and economic outcomes over their life course.

• The causal impact of health status on labour market outcomes: consequences for individuals and households
  University of Sheffield
  Using econometric techniques, this project will estimate the causal impact of health status on labour market outcomes, such as employment, productivity, wages and absenteeism.

• The economic and social value of health from childhood to later life
  UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies
  This project will expand understanding of the impact that a person’s physical and mental health has on their social and economic over their life course and across generations.

• Causal effects of alcohol and mental health problems on employment outcomes: Harnessing UK Biobank and linked administrative data
  University of Glasgow
  This project will assess the causal effects of alcohol consumption and depression on social and economic outcomes, including employment, receipt of welfare benefits and income.

• Does childhood obesity hinder human capital development?
  Imperial College London
  This project aims to establish the causal pathways that link childhood obesity to human capital development and social outcomes, with a focus on educational attainment, labour market outcomes and social participation.