title: Prevention in a free society.
abstract: While knowledge required for prevention can be derived from epidemiological studies, additional effort is needed from economists, behavioral scientists, and others to explore the costs of different health problems, the cost of intervention, and benefits, and the social acceptability of the activity. The tendency of health professionals is to apply medical techniques to prevention without exploring the efficacy, efficiency, or acceptability of nonmedical alternatives. The overall results of nationally sponsored prevention efforts have been disappointing. An attempt to align public prevention expenditures with objectively derived priorities provokes a question as to whether planning and priority setting for prevention can be done efficiently in the United States.
authors.affiliation: , .
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pickett