The Cost Effectiveness of Prevention Programs

Prevention programs appear to be the first cut when financial resources become scarce. This philosophy is contrary to the ever-growing literature that reveals the effectiveness of prevention programs and their costeffectiveness as compared to treatment programs. Although prevention programs usually do not produce immediate outcomes, they can produce long-term results that easily outperform the temporary findings in treatment interventions. This paper will provide a literature review of evaluations of the effectiveness of prevention programs and review cost-benefit analyses conducted on prevention programs from a variety of fields.