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Skipping preventive care ends up being more expensive

Illnesses, crime and mental health-problems entail high costs, both for the individual, in the form of human suffering, as well as for society. Everyone benefits from efforts that prevent problems, but who will pay when the profits come much later?

This web page has been machine translated. If there are any uncertainties, please refer to the Swedish text.

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Rickard Bracken, Annica Johansson and Ing-Marie Wieselgren work in different ways to make society better at preventing problems.  

Listen to a conversation about how society can work with prevention and about new ways of measuring problems that never occured. The podcast is in Swedish.

In a report we meet Leonardo, who after ten years of homelessness has received his own first-hand contract. Housing first is an example of an effort that reduces both individuals' vulnerability and the costs of society. Jan Ström at Sveriges Stadsmissioner is the project manager for Housing first and says that safe living is the basis for dealing with other problems, such as ill health or abuse.

But despite the method being proven to be effective, few of Sweden's municipalities use it. What is needed for different actors to invest in effective preventative measures?

Participants make three experts with knowledge of preventive measures, how we can finance them and how we can measure the effects:

  • Ing-Marie Wieselgren, project manager of mental health in Sweden's municipalities and regions (SKR)
  • Rickard Bracken, Secretary General of Suicide Zero
  • Annica Johansson, Head of Operations at Effektfull

The conversation is led by Liselott Bergman, Vinnova.

Last updated 24 March 2020