Resources Repository
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Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2020Resource Pack: SSB Excise Tax Briefs (CHOICES)
Rising rates of obesity represent one of the greatest public health threats facing the United …
Rising rates of obesity represent one of the greatest public health threats facing the United States. Obesity has been linked to excess consumption of sugary drinks. Federal, state, and local governments have considered implementing excise taxes on sugary drinks to reduce consumption, reduce obesity, and provide a new source of government revenue. This resource pack includes a series of briefs describing analyses conducted by the Childhood Obesity Intervention Cost-Effectiveness Study (CHOICES), evaluating the health and economic impact…
Policy/Regulation | Social Determinants | Health Outcomes | Microsimulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation | Quantitative Literacy -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2024Resource Pack: Introduction to Benefit-Cost Analysis
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the theory and …
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the theory and practice of benefit-cost analysis. It is targeted towards advanced students as well as practitioners and those interested in teaching benefit-cost analysis. Benefit-cost analysis (also referred to as cost-benefit analysis) is a well-established and widely-used form of economic evaluation. It is designed to inform policy and other decisions by providing evidence on the consequences of alternative interventions. In benefit-cost analysis, all…
Policy/Regulation | Social Determinants | Preferences/Values | Priority Setting/Ethics | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Climate/Environment | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Global | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2017Resource Pack: U.S. Opioid Epidemic
Opioid misuse and addiction in the United States is an ongoing and rapidly evolving public …
Opioid misuse and addiction in the United States is an ongoing and rapidly evolving public health crisis, requiring an urgent coordinated response and innovative scientific solutions. This resource pack was curated for educators and students interested in how decision analytic methods and tools can be applied to the problem of opioid addiction.
Policy/Regulation | Social Determinants | Preferences/Values | Evidence Synthesis | Mathematical Models | Decision Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Mental Health | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation -
Tutorial/PrimerPublication, Teaching Resource 2015White Paper: Retrospective Benefit-Cost Analysis
In this article the authors consider how benefit-cost analysis can be used retrospectively to promote …
In this article the authors consider how benefit-cost analysis can be used retrospectively to promote understanding of the impacts after a policy is implemented. Serving as a brief primer, the authors propose that analysis can be useful for identifying needed reforms as well as in improving the conduct of future prospective analyses. The major challenges relate to estimating what would have occurred in the absence of the policy and separating the effects of the policy…
Policy/Regulation | Social Determinants | Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Environmental Health | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Policy Translation -
Tools/ModelsInteractive, Teaching Resource 2020Interactive Graphic: Interpreting a COVID-19 Test Result
Currently, the most common diagnostic test for COVID-19 relies on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction …
Currently, the most common diagnostic test for COVID-19 relies on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and most often uses samples obtained from the respiratory tract by nasopharyngeal swab. This interactive graphic demonstrates the influence of the prior probability of COVID-19, the test sensitivity (i.e., the probability of a positive test conditional on disease presence), and the test specificity (i.e., the probability of a negative test conditional on disease absence) on the post-test probability of…
Infectious Diseases | Probability/Bayes | Test Performance | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | High School | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Graphics/Visualization | Quantitative Literacy -
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…
Policy/Regulation | Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | 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…
Policy/Regulation | Preferences/Values | Health Outcomes | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Environmental Health | 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…
Policy/Regulation | Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Climate/Environment | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
Teaching PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2022Teaching Pack: Building Decision Trees
In this teaching pack on Building Decision Trees, students learn how to structure the elements …
In this teaching pack on Building Decision Trees, students learn how to structure the elements (e.g., objectives, alternatives, probabilities, and outcomes) of a problem into a decision tree model, conduct a baseline analysis of the expected value of different alternatives, assess the value of perfect information, and perform sensitivity analyses. Materials include an instructor's note, videos, companion slides, a glossary, an annotated bibliography, and sample exercises. Learning Objectives Integrate the core elements (alternatives,…
Infectious Diseases | Decision Analysis | Health/Medicine | Global | College | Graduate | Conceptual Mapping | Graphics/Visualization | Quantitative Literacy