An Advocate’s Guide of Harm Reduction Programs to Economic Analysis

People who work in and advocate harm reduction programs talk a lot about evidence. In the face of political and moralistic opposition to what we do, we know we are right because science – the public health evidence base – is on our side. Hundreds of studies have shown beyond any reasonable doubt that needle exchange, opioid substitution therapy, outreach programs, and other harm reduction approaches reduce the spread of disease, link people to care and treatment, and produce all types of other health and social benefits.

In order to judge whether any project is of good value, policy makers, hospital administrators, business people, and many others are increasingly using techniques called cost-effectiveness and cost-benefi t analysis. Th ough slightly diff erent, each is  basically a study of the economic value of a particular program or policy. In this guide,  we’ll refer to these techniques collectively as economic analysis.

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