In the realm of health economics, quantifying societal health impacts is paramount. Productivity-adjusted life years (PALYs) have emerged as a vital metric, enabling stakeholders to appraise the economic burdens of health states on society comprehensively. PALYs extend beyond mere survival metrics, incorporating productivity losses due to absenteeism and presenteeism. This makes them invaluable in gauging both the direct and indirect costs of diseases. By understanding how various illnesses affect productivity, policymakers and health economists can craft more informed interventions, potentially shifting focus from disease management to preventive measures.
Methodological Landscape
The study engaged in an extensive scoping review, analyzing 41 distinct research papers from 2018 to 2025. Researchers adopted PALYs to assess the health burdens associated with chronic diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular ailments, as well as various environmental factors. Notably, breast cancer, leukaemia, kidney ailment, mental disorders, knee osteoarthritis, epilepsy, and sleep apnea emerged with the most significant declines in productivity indices. Geographically, the majority of these inquiries originated from high-income nations, followed by upper-middle and lower-middle-income countries.
Findings and Insights
Life table models predominated this field of research, featuring in 26 of the 41 reviewed studies. Dynamic models were the second preferred choice, spotlighted in 10 publications. Crucially, preventative strategies received more attention, with 21 studies emphasizing prevention, in contrast to 18 exploring disease management. Among the productivity-related factors, both absenteeism and presenteeism were considered by most studies.
– Societal health burdens due to various diseases are now measured effectively using PALYs.
– High-income countries lead in research application, suggesting a resource gap in lower-income settings.
– Disease prevention strategies increasingly outnumber management approaches, indicating shifting paradigms in healthcare policies.
– The interplay between workplace productivity and health states prompts nuanced policy responses.
PALYs stand out as an essential measure in health economics, capturing productivity losses alongside traditional health impacts. By factoring in unpaid and informal work, researchers can refine the accuracy of burden estimates, providing a more profound understanding of the economic implications of health states. This dual-layer perspective aids policymakers in identifying pivotal areas where interventions can maximize societal and economic benefits, effectively balancing resource allocation between prevention and management strategies. As the emphasis grows on prevention, integrating PALYs more expansively could significantly enhance the alignment of health policies with long-term economic goals.
This article has been prepared with the assistance of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more details, please refer to our Terms and Conditions. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author.
