Health Economics of Well-being and Well-becoming across the Life-course

Discussions about spending on health and social care often fall into silos, determined by disease or the cause of death. Spending on health and social care is rarely assessed along the lines of a life-course model. It is also ironic that many public health interventions provide relatively convincing value for money, yet we still only spend approximately 5% of the NHS budget on prevention.

Health Economics of Well-being and Well-becoming across the Life-course follows a life-course model with chapters aligned to pregnancy and early years; adolescence; working age; and older age phases of life. It enables the reader to think about older age in a different way and asks them to consider where we should be investing in cost-effective interventions to support the prevention of chronic disease, disability, and premature death later in life. Academically, it brings the rigour of evidence review to an eminently readable book using infographics and take-home messages. The economic and health economics evidence presented, drawing on systematic review evidence where possible, provokes discussion of the tension between prevention and cure in our health and social care systems.

Rhiannon T. Edwards, Professor of Health Economics, Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME), School of Health Sciences, Bangor University, UK,Catherine L. Lawrence, Research Officer, Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME), School of Health Sciences, Bangor University, UK

Rhiannon T. Edwards is Founding Professor of Health Economics research at Bangor University, Co-Director of the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME), and Co-Director of Health and Care Economics Cymru, funded by Welsh Government through Health and Care Research Wales. She has, with colleagues, published over 400 peer-reviewed articles in health economics and is the Co-Editor of "Applied Health Economics for Public Health Practice and Research", Oxford University Press 2019. Her research interests are in the economics of prevention, public health and the design, conduct and reporting of trials of interventions, within and outside of the health system, to prevent avoidable ill-health and disability that lead to premature death.

Catherine L. Lawrence has a broad interest in health and well-being. She has a BSc in Psychology and MSc in Psychological Research Methods from Lancaster University, and undertook her PhD research in Psycho-oncology at Loughborough University. She holds the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Level 7 qualification in Executive Coaching and Mentoring, and completed the ILM endorsed Well-being Coaching Programme through the British School of Coaching. Catherine expanded her research skills working with the Judgment and Decision Making group at the University of Leicester before moving back home to North Wales to work at the Centre for Research in Ageing and Cognitive Health (REACH), and more recently the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME) at Bangor University. She has experience in undertaking mixed-methods research in a range of study designs, and has published in a number of fields.

1. Introduction, Rhiannon T. Edwards, Catherine L. Lawrence, Bethany F. Anthony, and Lucy Bryning2. Cross-cutting Themes Influencing Well-being and Well-becoming across the Life-course, Llinos H. Spencer, Ned Hartfiel, Mary Lynch, Nathan Bray, Bethany F. Anthony, Catherine L. Lawrence, and Rhiannon T. Edwards3. Well-being in the Early Years and Childhood, Lucy Bryning, Bethany F. Anthony, Nathan Bray, Huw Lloyd-Williams, Joanna Charles, Lorna Tuersley, Catherine L. Lawrence, and Rhiannon T. Edwards4. The Well-being and Well-becoming of Adolescents and Young Adults, Alexander Torbuck, Eira Winrow, Huw Lloyd-Williams, Catherine L. Lawrence, and Rhiannon T. Edwards5. Well-being of the Workforce, Bethany F. Anthony, Llinos H. Spencer, Lucy Bryning, Huw Lloyd-Williams, Catherine L. Lawrence, and Rhiannon T. Edwards6. Living Well for Longer, Carys Stringer, Lucy Bryning, Llinos H. Spencer, Bethany F. Anthony, Victory Ezeofor, Catherine L. Lawrence, and Rhiannon T. Edwards7. Dying Well, Carys Stringer, Eira Winrow, Kalpa Pisavadia, Catherine L. Lawrence, and Rhiannon T. Edwards8. Diversifying Health Economics to Provide a Life-course Lens on Health, Well-being and Well-becoming, Rhiannon T. Edwards, Catherine L. Lawrence, and Abraham Makanjuola