Resources Repository
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Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2021Resource Pack: Valuing Health and Longevity in BCA
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the valuation of …
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the valuation of changes in health and longevity in benefit-cost analysis. It is targeted towards advanced students and practitioners who have a basic understanding of the benefit-cost analysis framework, as discussed in the Resource Pack: Introduction to Benefit-Cost Analysis. That pack provides a general overview of the approaches that are explored in more detail here, as well as related guidance documents. This pack…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Preferences/Values | Policy/Regulation | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Policy Translation -
ArticlePublication 2020Premature Deaths, Statistical Lives, and Years of Life
This article clarifies some misconceptions about mortality risk and economic valuation. The mortality effects of …
This article clarifies some misconceptions about mortality risk and economic valuation. The mortality effects of exposure to environmental hazards such as air pollution are often described by the estimated number of “premature deaths” and the economic value of an exposure reduction as the number of “statistical lives saved” multiplied by the “value per statistical life.” These terms can be misleading because the number of deaths advanced by exposure cannot be determined from mortality data; it…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Preferences/Values | Health Outcomes | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
BookPublication 2018Pricing Lives: Guideposts for a Safer Society
This book describes how the government came to adopt the value of a statistical life …
This book describes how the government came to adopt the value of a statistical life (VSL) approach for valuing changes in mortality risks and argues that its more widespread use would create a safer and more equitable society. The author estimates these values based on how much more money workers would demand to take on more hazardous jobs; his current estimate is $10 million. The book addresses numerous topics such as whether older people’s lives…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Preferences/Values | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
Tools/ModelsPublication, Teaching Resource 2017Publicly Available Software Tools for Decision-Makers During an Emergent Epidemic
Epidemics and emerging infectious diseases are becoming an increasing threat to global populations-challenging public health …
Epidemics and emerging infectious diseases are becoming an increasing threat to global populations-challenging public health practitioners, decision makers and researchers to plan, prepare, identify and respond to outbreaks in near real-timeframes. The aim of this research is to evaluate the range of public domain and freely available software epidemic modelling tools. Twenty freely utilizable software tools underwent assessment of software usability, utility and key functionalities. Stochastic and agent based tools were found to be highly…
Mathematical Models | Dynamic Transmission | Dynamic Simulation | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Climate/Environment | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Quantitative Literacy -
ArticlePublication 2017Valuing Non-Fatal Risks: Monetary and Health-Utility Measures
This article discusses metrics for valuing environmental, health, and safety policies, which should be consistent …
This article discusses metrics for valuing environmental, health, and safety policies, which should be consistent with both the preferences of affected individuals and social preferences for distribution of health risks in the population. Two classes of metrics are widely used: monetary measures (e.g., willingness to pay) and health-utility measures (e.g., quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)). Health-utility measures impose more structure than monetary measures, with the result that individuals’ preferences often appear inconsistent…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Preferences/Values | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
Tutorial/PrimerPublication, Teaching Resource 2016Cost per DALY Thresholds and Health Opportunity Costs
This policy brief aims to explain the cost per DALY threshold and the concepts of …
This policy brief aims to explain the cost per DALY threshold and the concepts of health opportunity costs, especially aimed at low and middle-income countries. The authors state that an assessment of health opportunity costs is required if the best use is to be made of health and healthcare resources. This requires an assessment of whether the improvement in health outcomes they offer exceeds the improvement in health that would have been possible if the…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Global | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation -
Tutorial/PrimerPublication, Teaching Resource 2015Economic Evaluations with Agent-Based Modelling: An Introduction
This tutorial presents the basic concepts and important features of agent-based models, and provides a …
This tutorial presents the basic concepts and important features of agent-based models, and provides a case study of a simple cost effectiveness analysis of screening for an infectious disease. Agent-based modelling (ABM) is a relatively new technique, which overcomes some of the limitations of other methods commonly used for economic evaluations. These limitations include linearity, homogeneity and stationarity. Agents in ABMs are autonomous entities, who interact with each other and with the environment. ABMs provide…
Mathematical Models | Dynamic Simulation | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Conceptual Mapping | Quantitative Literacy -
BookPublication 2014Decision Making in Health and Medicine: Integrating Evidence and Values
Decision making in health care involves consideration of a complex set of diagnostic, therapeutic and …
Decision making in health care involves consideration of a complex set of diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic uncertainties. Medical therapies have side effects, surgical interventions may lead to complications, and diagnostic tests can produce misleading results. Furthermore, patient values and service costs must be considered. Decisions in clinical and health policy require careful weighing of risks and benefits and are commonly a trade-off of competing objectives: maximizing quality of life vs maximizing life expectancy vs minimizing…
Mathematical Models | Probability/Bayes | Preferences/Values | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Test Performance | Value of Information | Decision Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Global | North America | Europe | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Quantitative Literacy -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2014Life Saving Maths: How Does Vaccination Work?
This learning module explores decision-making in vaccinations, and unpacks how epidemics spread through herd immunity. …
This learning module explores decision-making in vaccinations, and unpacks how epidemics spread through herd immunity. Through video clips, Dr. Julia Gog and Dr. Andrew Conlan explain simple mathematical models for infectious disease to illustrate the importance of immunization. Related resources, such as activities, worksheets, and presentations, are available to help students investigate the effects of vaccination. These activities are recommended to be used together but can also be used independently. They are aimed at a…
Mathematical Models | Dynamic Transmission | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | High School | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Quantitative Literacy