A benefit-cost analysis of the Harlem hospital injury prevention program.

Abstract

Each year, an estimated 20%–25% of children are injured seriously enough to require medical attention or miss school. Injury rates are especially high among urban and minority children. To address this elevated risk, the Harlem Hospital Injury Prevention Program (HHIPP) was implemented in the fall of 1988 in the Central Harlem Health District of New York City. Davidson et al. examined the impact of the HHIPP on severe injury rates and found that, after adjusting for annual and seasonal trends, the injury rate declined by 26%. This article builds on this impact evaluation with a benefit-cost evaluation from a health care spending perspective. We examined whether medical cost savings resulting from injuries prevented outweighed the program cost.