title: Evaluation of an educational intervention using the enhanced food safety cost-of-illness model.
abstract: In recent years, a number of federally sponsored state-based food safety education programs have conducted economic evaluations aimed at demonstrating the efficacy of their approaches. These evaluations have typically been based on the "Virginia method," a comprehensive, but overly simplistic means of estimating benefit-cost ratios for food safety and nutrition education programs. In this article, we use the enhanced food safety cost-of-illness model, coupled with a more complete food safety education intervention model to evaluate the efficacy of the Ohio Family Nutrition Program. We find that, under most reasonable assumptions, the derived benefit-cost ratios imply that this program is socially beneficial. The model presented here is of particular use because it can be replicated to evaluate other broad-based food safety programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Consumer Sciences, The Ohio State University, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1295, USA. Scharff.8@osu.edu
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Scharff
authors.forename: Joyce
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McDowell
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Medeiros
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis / Q000191:economics*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis / Q000191:economics; D006266:Health Education / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education*; D009820:Ohio; D012449:Safety / Q000191:economics