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Finance and Management
Reference:

Financial Literacy and Investment in Health: Points of Intersection

Goleva Ol'ga Ivanovna

ORCID: 0000-0002-0846-4913

PhD in Economics

Associate professor of Finance, Credit and Exchange Department, Perm State University

614990, Russia, Perm Krai, Perm, Bukireva str., 15

OlgaGoleva@psu.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 
Goleva Lyubov Ivanovna

Assistant, Federal Scientific Center for Medical and Preventative Health Risk Management Technologies

614045, Russia, Perm Krai, Perm, Monastyrskaya str., 82

love07@inbox.ru

DOI:

10.25136/2409-7802.2022.4.39325

EDN:

ZCXACE

Received:

05-12-2022


Published:

30-12-2022


Abstract: Unwillingness to carry out preventive measures and follow the principles of a healthy lifestyle (and, accordingly, spend money on it) can be considered as an example of irrational behavior not only from a medical point of view, but also from an economic point of view. The economic justification of the effectiveness of investments in health is not only a tool of personal financial planning for a person with a certain level of financial literacy, but also another argument for encouraging the population by the state and the employer to health–saving behavior of individuals. The proposed article is devoted to the relationship of a person's financial literacy with his decision-making about health-saving behavior and the implementation of measures aimed at reducing the risk to life and health. The results of research on financial literacy as a determinant of human health and financial literacy in the context of investing in one's health are studied on the data of the scientometric database Scopus. There has been a sharp increase in interest in this topic in the international research field since 2020. The analyzed works show that financial literacy is not determinant in health-saving behavior, but can be used as a tool for making rational decisions. Based on the theoretical analysis of normative and literary sources (domestic and foreign methodological recommendations, materials of scientific articles presented in the RSCI and Scopus database from 2000 to 2022), the main approaches to assessing the effectiveness of investments in disease prevention for an individual within the framework of personal financial planning as a way of rational decision-making are summarized. Conclusions are drawn about the complexity of independent "rational" calculation of the effectiveness of investments in health, regardless of the level of financial literacy. The assumption is made about the need to use formalized approaches in assessing investments in health as a tool for rational decision-making on the one hand, and a tool for improving health literacy.


Keywords:

health investment, financial literacy, health literacy, prevention of diseases, effectiveness of prevention, effectiveness of risk management, health-saving behavior, personal financial planning, health risk management, disease prevention spending

This article is automatically translated.

IntroductionInvesting in health is often seen as a win-win option to spend savings in conditions of economic turbulence.

Experts and consultants give recommendations to "invest in yourself", which concerns not only investments in health (own or children's health), but also in education, appearance, etc. For example: "Investing in yourself: do I need to invest in my development?"1 (Finam), "The standard of living has risen very much": the best investments in yourself"2 (Tinkoff), "Investments in yourself:real benefits in the non-material sphere"3 (BCS), etc.

At the same time, investment decision-making, considered within the framework of personal financial planning, requires a balanced approach and evaluation of the effectiveness of these investments, which is a component of the behavior of a financially literate person.

The question of the need to assess the effectiveness of investments in human health has been raised for a long time, but an analysis of existing approaches shows that a person acts, most often, only as an object and "carrier of health or ill health" in relation to the actions of the state (and/or employer) to implement measures aimed at reducing risks to the life and health of the population (employees).

Taking into account the subjectivity of an individual in making decisions regarding his own health (which has clearly been identified in many countries of the world, if necessary, to make decisions regarding the health of an individual against the background of the Covid-19 pandemic), the question arises about the reasons for making decisions on the implementation of preventive measures and evaluating the effectiveness (including economic) of such decisions by the person himself and the availability of tools for evaluation.

Financial literacy as a determinant of healthIntuitively, it seems that financial literacy as a characteristic of rational human behavior should also be reflected in actions aimed at preserving one's own health as the most rational and economically profitable behavior.

A sample of more than 1300 articles indexed in the scientometric database Scopus was formed to review research on this topic. According to the search query "financial literature, health literature", works from 1990 to 2022 were selected (as of the date of application 1.12.2022). Publication activity in this research area is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 Results of publication activity for the query "financial literature, health literature" in Scopus (number of publications by year as of 1.12.2022, pcs).With a detailed study of publications by year, it can be said that the initial interest in the topic was primarily related to the interests of the state and health issues in national economies, the interests of the employer are also mentioned (through the prism of business and effects for it).

In some cases, the economic consequences of diseases are indicated, both for the country's health system and for the person himself.Studying publications on the relationship between financial literacy and health literacy, one can note a distinct and constant increase in interest in the topic since the early 2010s, with a clear surge in the last two years (against the general background, scientists from the USA and Japan stand out the most active in this research area).

The obvious connection between financial literacy and health was primarily manifested in the issues of insurance and non-state pension provision. Financially literate citizens in different countries, thinking about insurance and a pension plan, provide themselves with a high quality of life, which is also manifested in the availability of medical care. Long-term planning in itself becomes a characteristic of responsible behavior in relation to one's own life and health.

Among the research groups, the group stands out: Yu L., Mottola G., Barnes L.L., Bennett D.A., Boyle P.A., etc. In the works of these authors, it is financial literacy, along with health literacy, that is considered as an indicator predicting changes in the cognitive health of older people and a higher risk of mortality in old age [1, 2, 3, 4, etc.]. That is, financial literacy and health literacy not only determine decision-making regarding one's own health-saving behavior, but are also part of such behavior.

Also, the interest of researchers in the topic in the last two years has manifested itself in publications that represent complex results: the availability of financial resources is not decisive in choosing health-saving behavior and implementing measures to reduce risks to human life and health. In the first place comes "financial literacy" as the ability to make rational decisions and effectively use available resources. [5, 6, 7] Along with rational behavior in making decisions about their health, financial literacy is also characterized as a necessary element that complements financial resources as such.

Having detailed the request, we will consider the results of research on the ratio of financial literacy (financial literacy) and investments in one's own health (health investments) in the scientometric database Scopus.

Fig. 2 Results of publication activity for the query "financial literature, health investments" in Scopus (number of publications by year as of 1.12.2022, pcs).

When considering the relationship between financial literacy and investments in health, one can also observe a surge of interest in this topic in the last two years, which, despite the coincidence, cannot be called a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, which undoubtedly focused attention on the issues of disease prevention.Publications in 2020 include the study of decision-making issues within the framework of personal financial planning in terms of insurance and non-state pension provision.

In 2021 and 2022, along with national health issues, the topic of the impact of financial literacy on the implementation of disease prevention measures by the population was highlighted. In the works of scientists from Japan and the USA Lal S., T.X.T. Nguyen, A.S. Sulemana, M.S.R. Khan, Y. Kadoya, etc. it is shown that financial literacy is not a determining determinant in health-saving behavior, but can be used as a tool for making rational decisions [8, 9, 10].

Financial solutions in the prevention of diseasesA rational approach to decision-making involves the possibility of formalizing the effects and effectiveness of their actions/activities/ measures.

There are quite a lot of methods that are used to assess the effectiveness of investments in health (disease prevention, treatment and, in general, to carry out measures aimed at reducing risks to human life and health), but not all approaches and methods are applicable to a particular individual for personal financial planning purposes.

Based on the theoretical analysis of normative and literary sources (domestic and foreign methodological recommendations, materials of scientific articles presented in the database of the RSCI and Scopus from 2000 to 2022), the main approaches to assessing the effectiveness of investments in disease prevention and/or treatment for a particular individual within the framework of personal financial planning are summarized.

The lack of a formalized approach to assessing the effectiveness of investments in one's own health is accompanied by a number of problems, for example:- risk-based focus (as an example, anti-vaccination campaigns),

- the lack of the possibility of comparing different options for solving the "problem" / achieving the goal from an economic point of view.

The question of the need to assess the effectiveness of investments in human health has been raised for a long time, but an analysis of existing approaches shows that a person acts, most often, only as an object and "carrier of health or ill health" in relation to the actions of the state (and/or employer) to implement measures aimed at reducing risks to the life and health of the population (employees).

Taking into account the subjectivity of an individual in making decisions regarding his own health (which has clearly been identified in many countries of the world, if necessary, to make decisions regarding the health of an individual against the background of the Covid-19 pandemic), the question arises of evaluating the effectiveness (including economic) of such decisions by the person himself and the availability of tools for evaluation.

Considering the issue of formalizing the planning of investments in health in the context of personal financial planning, the approach may be broader.

"Health is another determining circumstance that will affect the expected income needs and risk tolerance and, consequently, personal financial planning. If health limits your income or ability to work, or significantly increases expenses, your income needs may increase. There may also be an increased need to protect yourself from further restrictions or increased costs. At the same time, your risk tolerance may decrease, which will further affect your financial decisions" [11].

Thus, both medical and social (traditionally accepted and intuitive) and economic effects can be distinguished for the person himself.

The state and employers are often more interested in solving the issue of formalizing the economic effects of "investments in health" of a particular individual, since a sufficient number of people are not ready (do not want) to take an active part in disease prevention programs initiated by the employer or the state (which is free for the employee himself). In this case, if an individual does not accept these measures, the effectiveness of measures aimed at reducing risks to the life and health of employees/ the population decreases.

The effectiveness of investments in workers' health was discussed earlier in the article "Investments in workers' health: an overview of the effects and methods of evaluating effectiveness" [12] where it is indicated that along with the expected positive effects (including economic ones), there are also serious risks of such projects associated with the behavior of the workers themselves (sabotage of such measures can lead not only to a decrease in the effectiveness of the measures carried out and the non-receipt of a positive effect, but also to a negative effect in the absence of employee interest, when preventive measures are perceived as excessive, affecting personal life, as a consequence leading to a decrease in employee loyalty).

"If the value in society is abstract, not "weighted" in calculable units, it is difficult to direct action to it, and therefore it is not supported in practice. While we say that health is priceless, taking care of it remains an unclaimed act that does not deserve priority."[13]

Thus, the economic justification of the effectiveness of investments in health is not only a tool of personal financial planning for a person, but also another argument for encouraging the population by the state and the employer to health–saving behavior of individuals (and increasing the effectiveness of relevant state and corporate programs).

As already noted, most of the approaches and methods for assessing the economic efficiency of investments in health have been initiated and created for the purposes of public authorities and evaluating the effectiveness of the health system or individual projects/activities, which makes it difficult for an individual to use these methods. At the same time, studying the effects of measures aimed at reducing risks to human life and health, traditionally note not only medical (increased life expectancy, improved health, reduced morbidity, reduced mortality), social (improved quality of life), but also economic effects (increased labor productivity, reduced treatment costs and insurance coverage, etc.).

An overview of the main approaches and methods for evaluating the effectiveness of measures aimed at reducing risks to human life and health is presented in Table 1. Some studies have already been devoted to the systematization of approaches and methods in assessing the economic efficiency of investments in health (for example, in P.V. Sartakova [14]), where approaches and methods were systematized by levels of "state – enterprise – person" and the object of evaluation (costs, effects, efficiencies or risks). In this study, approaches and methods are listed from more general (and adopted in the form of regulatory legal acts) to private. In addition, approaches and methods that make it possible to compare both investments and effects at the same time, as well as approaches that provide for the evaluation of at least one of these elements, are taken into account. The methods that provide for the assessment of both morbidity and mortality (as an extreme risk of developing the disease) are named.

Table 1. Overview of approaches and methods for evaluating the effectiveness of measures aimed at reducing risks to human life and health in the context of personal financial planning

¹Approach / method 

(method content)

Units

measurements

attachments

Units 

measurements 

effects

Assessment of the possibility of using the method in personal financial planning

 

1

 

Methodology for calculating economic losses from mortality, morbidity and disability of the population 4.The losses from the retirement of a person as a labor resource in economic relations are calculated (according to the average product produced).

Not provided

Monetary units (rubles of produced/under-produced gross domestic product)

Not applicable in general. Individual elements of the evaluation logic (survival period, average income according to available data, etc.) can be used.

2

Assessment of health insurance compensation as a result of injury to health 5, 6.Lost earnings, additional expenses incurred related to the deterioration of health, harm to life and health.

Not provided

Monetary units

A unified approach to calculating lost earnings; a unified approach to additional expenses incurred (can be used for investments).

3

Economic risk assessment for the life and health of the population Zaitseva N.V., Shur P.Z., Golevoy O.I. [15]  

The integrated economic assessment provides for an assessment of losses for budgets and extra-budgetary funds of the Russian Federation.

Monetary units (expenditures from the budget)

Monetary units (losses/prevented losses of the budget of the budgetary system and extra-budgetary funds)

The average calculation of personal income tax losses can be used for the average calculation of wage losses.

4

Assessment of damage from environmentally caused morbidity of the population Revicha B.A., Sidorenko V.N. [16, 17]

Assessment for the budget due to lost taxes due to a reduction in the period of working capacity of the population, including the disabled.

Monetary units

Monetary units (budget losses)

The average calculation of income losses can be applied for an individual individual.

5

Cost–effectiveness analysis, CEA (cost - effectiveness analysis) [18, 19]Cost estimation in monetary units per unit of health.

Monetary units

Natural units (years of life, days of disability, cases of illness, etc.)

It is possible to be used by individuals, but it involves difficulties with predicting long-term effects and requires special knowledge.

6

Cost–utility analysis, CUA (cost - utility analysis) [20, 21]

The effect (utility) is expressed in the conditional unit "gain in years of life" or "prevented death".

Monetary units

Days/years of a healthy life, taking into account its quality

Possible. It does not allow the calculation of "ruble for ruble", but makes it possible to formalize the effect on the unit of invested funds.

7

Cost–benefit analysis, CBA (cost - benefit analysis) [18, 22]Variants of the cost–effectiveness analysis, in which both costs and results (efficiency) are presented in monetary terms

Monetary units

Monetary units

It is possible for use by individuals, but involves difficulties with predicting long-term effects and requires special knowledge.

8

Cost minimization analysis, CMA (cost minimization analysis) [18, 23]The principle of cost comparison for preventive (and other medical) technologies/measures with the same predicted effect.

Monetary units

Different units of measurement can be used for effects

It is possible for use by individuals, but involves difficulties with predicting long-term effects and requires special knowledge.

9

Budget impact analysis, BIA (budget impact analysis) [24, 25, 26]  Assessment of the impact on the budget, including costs and effects in value terms, including deferred (total economic effect).

Monetary units

Monetary units

It is possible for use by individuals, but involves difficulties with predicting long-term effects and requires special knowledge.

10

Analysis of the cost of illness, COI (cost of illness) [27, 28]The study of the economic burden of a particular disease or health condition on society, a person or an enterprise through the identification, measurement and evaluation of direct and indirect costs.

[29]

Monetary units

Monetary units

It is possible for use by individuals, but involves difficulties with predicting long-term effects and requires special knowledge.

11

Analysis of "relative value" [30]

It is based on an assessment of the cost of an additional unit of effectiveness for a clinically more effective technology. The comparison criterion is GDP per capita.

Monetary units

Monetary units (in comparison with GDP per capita)

The principle of comparing technologies for an individual can be used.

12

The method of economic efficiency of screening based on statistical data [31]

Assessment of the economic efficiency of technologies based on statistical data on their application.

Monetary units

Monetary units

Practically not applicable by an individual on their own (due to the high labor intensity).

 At the same time, with periodically updated data on the effectiveness of preventive technologies for the most significant diseases, it can become the simplest and easiest-to-use tool for analysis and evaluation.13

Estimation of the cost of an average human life [32, 33, 34, 35]

It is based on the classical approaches of valuation theory (revenue, cost and comparative approaches). Related variation: human capital assessment.

Monetary units (within the cost approach)

Monetary units

Limited possibilities of using separate assessment approaches (the cost and revenue approach are methodologically applicable with some adaptation).

14

The assessment of human capital [36, 37, 38] is based on the assessment of the impact of investments in health on the cost of human life

Monetary units

Monetary units

Limited possibilities of using individual assessment approaches

15

M. Grossman's health demand model [39]

(variation of the human capital assessment method)The optimal amount of investment is chosen depending on the rational choice of a person to maximize his utility function (and depends on the personal characteristics and preferences of a person).

Monetary units

Monetary units

It is practically not applicable by an individual independently (due to the high labor intensity) and complexity of data analysis.

16

The "willingness to pay" method, WTP (willingness to pay) [40]The method is based on a subjective assessment of the cost of living that an individual is willing to pay in order not to suffer or die.

Monetary units

Years of life

It is possible to use. Caution should be applied to the results of the application of the method, taking into account the subjectivity inherent in its basis.

17

Profitability of investments, ROI (return on investment) [41, 42]

Comparison of the magnitude of the effect of a health promotion measure with the amount of investment. ROI is the ratio of discounted (current) the cost of the resulting effect to the amount of investment expenses.

Monetary units

Monetary units

The classical method of evaluating the effectiveness of any investment. In the field of disease prevention, it is actively used by companies. For individuals, it is difficult to assess the effect of implemented programs or activities.

18

Assessment of the economic efficiency of investments in human health prevention by Sartakova P.V.7 [43]

(adaptation of the ROI method for the individual)The technique allows you to compare the "investment in health" and the change in an individual's cash flows, taking into account the time value of money.

Monetary units

Monetary units

The approach is intended for use in personal financial planning. It can be noted the complexity of use, the need to use a large amount of data and some special knowledge.

 Source: compiled by the authors.As can be seen from Table 1, despite the presence of a large number of approaches and methods for assessing the economic effectiveness of "investments in health", the possibilities for their use by humans are extremely limited.

This situation is caused by a combination of factors:medical (simultaneous influence of a large number of factors on effects and results; complexity of cost estimation of effects; delayed effects with an unclear planning horizon; the need to apply special knowledge and analysis of specialized literature (medical data) for prognosis);

  • psychological (not being ready to "look into the future" and assess risks; fear of "jinxing"; "a healthy lifestyle is too expensive"; some preventive measures scare more than the consequences of the disease); in addition, a person cannot consider himself only as a labor resource, which is dictated by methods based on calculations produced/under-produced product;
  • economic (not the ability to maintain a financial plan, regardless of health; difficulties in conducting economic calculations; difficulties in accounting for the time value of money; lack of knowledge about basic approaches to the economic assessment of the effectiveness of their decisions).

The greatest difficulties of direct application of techniques by a person are caused by the following questions:

1) What amounts should be taken into account as an investment in health? This issue becomes especially relevant if we are not talking about a specific preventive measure, but about a lifestyle.

2)    How to take into account attachments and effects for different classes of diseases?

3) How to take into account the accumulated effect of prolonged "investing in health"?

4)    How to take into account the deferred effect and the time value of money? Is it enough to use a risk-free rate (for example, the rate on long-term deposits in a commercial bank) or is it necessary to take into account the risks?

5)    How to take into account the genetic predisposition to certain diseases? Is the cost of diagnosing genetic diseases automatically an investment in health?

6) How to take into account the marginal utility in the implementation of preventive measures?

These and other methodological issues are facing scientists from the fields of medicine, public health and economics. Nevertheless, as noted earlier, the use of a rational approach to decision-making within the framework of personal financial planning allows you to obtain the following effects: the impact on cognitive abilities in old age (which directly affects the quality of life and longevity), rational and balanced decisions regarding your health (the presence of informed decisions), rational financial behavior as a necessary addition to financial opportunities in following the principles of health-saving behavior.Conclusion

Health for many people remains an abstract concept, but it is possible to achieve the inclusion of "investments in health" in a person's personal financial plan by ridding him of at least part of the above problems. For example, this can be done by offering a "calculator" (by analogy with credit calculators, where you do not need to be able to count simple and compound interest, annuity payments and you do not need to know how to take into account postnumerando and prenumerando in the formula). Such a resource based on personal information and data on the impact of preventive technologies could provide background information on the effectiveness of health-saving behavior for a particular person and the same value in "calculable units". The relevance of such a product is justified by this work, but its development is not the purpose of the study, and may be the next step in the study of financially literate human behavior in the context of his competent health-saving behavior.

 

1 https://www.finam.ru/publications/item/investicii-v-sebya-nuzhno-li-vkladyvat-v-svoe-razvitie-20220903-142300/2 https://journal.tinkoff.ru/self-investment/

3 https://bcs.ru/blog/investicii-v-sebya-realnayavygoda-v-nematerialnoj-sfere

4 Order of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia No. 192, the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia No. 323n, the Ministry of Finance of Russia No. 45n, Rosstat No. 113 dated 10.04.2012 "On approval of the Methodology for calculating economic losses from mortality, morbidity and disability of the population" (Registered with the Ministry of Justice of Russia on 28.04.2012 No. 23983)

5 Federal Law No. 40-FZ of 25.04.2002 "On Compulsory Insurance of Civil Liability of Vehicle Owners"

6 Federal Law "On Compulsory insurance of civil liability of the Carrier for Causing Harm to the life, health, Property of Passengers and on the Procedure for Compensation of Such Damage Caused during the Transportation of Passengers by Metro" dated 14.06.2012 N 67-FZ

7 Refers to the prevention of diseases.

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First Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The subject of the study. The article, based on the title, should be devoted to evaluating the effectiveness of investments in health for personal financial planning purposes. The author has partially disclosed the stated issues, solely by stating the methods used in the scientific literature. Research methodology. Familiarization with the presented material allows us to conclude that there is no research conducted by the author on this topic, since the entire methodology boils down exclusively to the presentation of well-known facts and judgments in the text. Moreover, they are not even accompanied by author's comments and conclusions. The table constructed by the author may be interesting if the subsequent text is linked to it. The relevance of the research of the issues stated in the title of the topic is beyond doubt. At the same time, the problems identified by the author in the process of analysis and a well-founded set of recommendations for their solution are of interest. There is no scientific novelty in the reviewed material due to the construction of the content by compiling from publicly available sources without any author's interpretation. Style, structure, content. The style of presentation is generally scientific, judging by the absence of colloquial and journalistic expressions. The structure of the article by the author is not actually built up, since only theoretical information is presented (moreover, in a limited partial form). The content of the article includes a list (not even a review stated in the topic of the article) of approaches and methods for evaluating the effectiveness of measures aimed at reducing risks to human life and health in the context of personal financial planning. The content of the article should be filled with specific problem areas (for example, factors limiting the possibilities of conducting this assessment, etc.), as well as ways to solve them. For example, the author in the final paragraph suggests creating a calculator: what should this calculator look like? What sections should there be? How much will it cost to create it? What will be the economic and social effects of the creation? Bibliography. The material submitted for review includes a bibliographic list consisting of 32 sources, both domestic and foreign researchers. At the same time, there are no publications from 2021-2022 in the list. When finalizing the article in terms of filling in reasonable problems and ways to solve them, the author is recommended to add to the list the sources of statistical data used in the process of conducting the main research. Appeal to opponents. Despite the existence of a list of references, the author has not carried out any scientific discussion. When finalizing the article, it is recommended to discuss with other researchers the problems raised in the text and ways to solve them, including showing the originality of the author's ideas in comparison with those already available in the scientific literature. The elimination of this remark will also ensure the formation of a justification for the presence of scientific novelty, as well as increase the attractiveness of the article for a wide range of readers. Conclusions, the interest of the readership. Taking into account all of the above, the material requires a number of actions to transform it into a scientific article, at least by filling in the problems identified by the author in the course of the analysis and developed ways to solve them. In the current edition, the material is not of interest to the readership.

Second Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The subject of the research in the reviewed material is investments in the health and financial literacy of the population in the context of making appropriate investment decisions. The research methodology is based on the study of literature on the research topic, the processing of statistical data on publication activity on the studied problem, the generalization of approaches and methods for evaluating the effectiveness of measures aimed at reducing risks to human life and health in the context of personal financial planning. The author of the article rightly associates the relevance of the work with the fact that making decisions about investments, considered within the framework of personal financial planning, requires a balanced approach and assessment of the effectiveness of these investments, which is a component of the behavior of a financially literate person. The scientific novelty of the reviewed study, according to the reviewer, lies in the author's conclusions about the need to include "investments in health" in a person's personal financial plan and the development of information resources aimed at quantifying the effectiveness of health-saving behavior of citizens. The following sections are structurally highlighted in the article: Introduction, Financial literacy as a determinant of health, Financial solutions in disease prevention, Conclusion, Bibliography. The author analyzes the results of publication activity on requests related to the topic of publication in the international scientific citation database Scopus, based on the study of normative and literary sources, summarizes the main approaches to evaluating the effectiveness of investments in disease prevention and treatment for a particular individual within the framework of personal financial planning. At the same time, he identifies medical, social and economic effects, considers the main approaches to assessing the effectiveness of measures aimed at reducing risks to human life and health, as well as methods for conducting appropriate calculations. The bibliographic list includes 43 sources – publications of foreign and domestic scientists on the topic of the article, regulatory and legal materials. The text contains targeted references to literary sources confirming the existence of an appeal to opponents. Some comments should be made on the design of the article. Firstly, it seems that in Figures 1 and 2, the scale of the divisions on the vertical axis was chosen unsuccessfully, since more than half of the upper part of the fields of the figures are not involved. Secondly, the excessive bulkiness of Table 1 draws attention to itself – problems may arise when making up the article. Thirdly, it is unclear for what purpose the author places some of the sources not in the "Bibliography" section, but in the form of footnotes after the Conclusion. The reviewed material corresponds to the direction of the journal "Finance and Management", has been prepared on an urgent topic, may arouse the interest of readers, and therefore it is recommended for publication after some revision in accordance with the comments made.