P-26 Is lifestyle medicine a viable economic response to the Caribbean noncommunicable diseases burden?
Author(s):
J McKenzie-Johnson
Year of Presentation:
2026
Objective: Lifestyle medicine is a unique evidenced based
approach that utilizes preventative measures to promote
health and wellbeing. This practice has been institutionalized in many countries with overwhelming evidence of
positive health especially in relation to noncommunicable
diseases. This study sought to assess the cost-effectiveness
of adopting lifestyle medicine in Caribbean countries.
Methods: A narrative review was conducted of literature published in the PubMed repository. A total of 13 studies, published between 2010–2025, were included. Four themes were used in assessing and comparing the economic benefits of lifestyle medicine with conventional forms of care (cost-effectiveness modeling), defined as the comparative evaluation of costs relative to health outcomes (e.g., cost per QALY gained); (market and incentive structures), referring to the financial and institutional mechanisms that shape provider and patient behavior within healthcare systems; (supply–demand dynamics), describing the interaction between healthcare resource availability and population need or utilization; and (sensitivity testing), which examines how variations in key model assumptions or parameters influence the robustness of results.
Results: Reduced chronic disease incidence, lower medication use, and decreased hospital utilization drove favorable cost-utility ratios. Incentive-aligned financing strengthened clinical adoption, and lifestyle medicine shifted resource use toward prevention. These benefits remained robust under conservative sensitivity analyses, indicating strong potential cost-effectiveness in Caribbean health systems.
Conclusion: The findings support lifestyle medicine as a cost-effective and resilient approach with meaningful economic and population health gains. For the Caribbean, progress will depend on aligning financial incentives with prevention, expanding workforce training, improving regional economic modeling, and strengthening community engagement. Prioritizing these areas will facilitate sustainable implementation and maximize lifestyle medicine economic value in the region.