Costs and benefits of community water fluoridation in remote Aboriginal communities of the Northern Territory.
cost-benefit analysis
dental caries
environmental health
rural and remote health
water fluoridation
Journal
The Australian journal of rural health
ISSN: 1440-1584
Titre abrégé: Aust J Rural Health
Pays: Australia
ID NLM: 9305903
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Oct 2023
Oct 2023
Historique:
revised:
20
07
2023
received:
19
05
2023
accepted:
22
08
2023
medline:
23
10
2023
pubmed:
14
9
2023
entrez:
14
9
2023
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
To undertake an economic evaluation of community water fluoridation (CWF) in remote communities of the Northern Territory (NT). Dental caries experiences were compared between CWF and non-CWF communities before and after intervention. Costs and benefits of CWF are ascertained from the health sector perspective using water quality, accounting, oral health, dental care and hospitalisation datasets. Remote Aboriginal population in the NT between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2020. CWF. Potential economic benefits were estimated by changes in caries scores valued at the NT average dental service costs. Given the total 20-year life span of a fluoridation plant ($1.77 million), the net present benefit of introducing CWF in a typical community of 300-499 population was $3.79 million. For each $1 invested in CWF by government, the estimated long-term economic value of savings to health services ranged from $1.1 (population ≤300) to $16 (population ≥2000) due to reductions in treating dental caries and associated hospitalisations. The payback period ranged from 15 years (population ≤300) to 2.2 years (population ≥2000). The economic benefits of expanding CWF in remote Aboriginal communities of NT outweigh the costs of installation, operation and maintenance of fluoridation plants over the lifespan of CWF infrastructure for population of 300 or more.
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
1017-1026Informations de copyright
© 2023 National Rural Health Alliance Ltd..
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