ABSTRACT
Althoughpreventivemedicinehasalonghistory,predatingmuchofmodernclinicalmedicine, demandforpreventiveprogramsincreasedinrecentdecades.Sincethe1960s,riskaversion,rising healthcarecosts,andconcernsoverthequalitybroughtanewemphasistopreventionandspurred greaterinterestinidentifyingefficientsolutionstotheproblemsofhealthandhealthcareandinreducingtheeconomicburdenofhealthcarethroughpreventiveprograms.AstheHealthProjectConsortium arguedin1993,“Iftherewerenoillnessandnoaccidents,healthcarecostsforasocietywouldtheoreticallybezero”(Friesetal.,1993).Ÿisviewisreflectedinthewidespreaduseofestimatesoftheeconomic burden of disease as an argument for programs to change risk behavior and mitigate risks.
