Resources Repository
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ReportPublication 2015Improving Diagnosis in Health Care
Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an …
Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an explanation of a patient's health problem and informs subsequent health care decisions. The diagnostic process is a complex, collaborative activity that involves clinical reasoning and information gathering to determine a patient's health problem. This report, Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, explains that diagnostic errors-inaccurate or delayed diagnoses-persist throughout all settings of care and continue to harm an unacceptable number of patients.…
Value of Information | North America | Health Systems | Probability/Bayes | Health Outcomes | Test Performance | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2014Economic Implications of Population Ageing in China & India: Introduction to the Special Issue
In this special issue of The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, we focus on economic …
In this special issue of The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, we focus on economic aspects of population ageing in the world’s two population superpowers: China and India. China and India have been the subject of comparison for many years. Observations about their relative political and economic development abound (see for example Sen, 2013), but little analysis is currently available of their comparative demographic trajectories and the possible economic consequences of the population ageing that they are both undergoing. These demographic…
Costing Methods | Asia & Pacific | Health Systems | Health Outcomes | Chronic Disease/Risk | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2014HIV Cure Strategies: How Good Must They be to Improve on ART?
This article uses a microsimulation model to explore under what circumstances three HIV cure strategies …
This article uses a microsimulation model to explore under what circumstances three HIV cure strategies (gene therapy, chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation (SCT)) would improve efficacy, toxicity, cost and quality of life outcomes compared to current antiretroviral therapy (ART). Assuming a cost-effectiveness threshold of $100,000 per QALY, results show that gene therapy was cost-effective compared to ART with an efficacy of 10%, relapse rate of 0.5%/month, and cost of $54,000. Chemotherapy was cost-effective with an…
Microsimulation | North America | Infectious Diseases | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health/Medicine -
ReportPublication 2014Redirecting Innovation in U.S. Health Care
This report from RAND Health explores methods of reducing health care spending and developing medical …
This report from RAND Health explores methods of reducing health care spending and developing medical products that provide cost value with health benefits. It summarizes literature and explores case studies to provide policy recommendations to meet these goals. It identifies a wide range of factors that affect the costs, risks, and rewards of medical product invention. Some of these features include treatment creep, the medical arms race, costs and risks of FDA approval, limited reward…
Costing Methods | North America | Health Systems | Health Outcomes | Evidence Synthesis | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2014Rise and Fall of HIV in High-Prevalence Countries: A Challenge for Mathematical Modeling
Several countries with generalized, high-prevalence HIV epidemics, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, have experienced rapid declines …
Several countries with generalized, high-prevalence HIV epidemics, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, have experienced rapid declines in transmission. These HIV epidemics, often with rapid onsets, have generally been attributed to a combination of factors related to high-risk sexual behavior. The subsequent declines in these countries began prior to widespread therapy or implementation of any other major biomedical prevention. This change has been construed as evidence of behavior change, often on the basis of mathematical models, but…
Mathematical Models | Sub-Saharan Africa | Infectious Diseases | Health Outcomes | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2013Health Benefits and Cost-Effectiveness of Strategies to Reduce Maternal Mortality in Afghanistan
This article, published in Health Policy and Planning, disaggregates data on pregnancies in Afghanistan to …
This article, published in Health Policy and Planning, disaggregates data on pregnancies in Afghanistan to evaluate health outcomes and cost-effectiveness of interventions related to childbirth. These interventions include antenatal care, family planning, skilled birth attendance, access to transport, referral facilities, and quality of overall care. Outcomes include pregnancy-related complications, maternal deaths, maternal mortality ratios, costs and cost-effectiveness ratios. The authors report that increasing family planning would be the most effective individual intervention. The model suggests…
State-Transition | Asia & Pacific | Health Systems | Health Outcomes | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2012Health and Economic Outcomes of Interventions to Reduce Pregnancy-Related Mortality in Nigeria
This paper examines the cost-effectiveness and impact of individual and integrated packages of interventions aimed …
This paper examines the cost-effectiveness and impact of individual and integrated packages of interventions aimed to reduce maternal mortality in Nigeria, a country with extremely high maternal mortality rates. Using a previously validated model adapted to the Nigerian context, the study finds that an increase of access to family planning is the most effective individual strategy, which not only reduces pregnancy-related mortality but also proves to be economically efficient. However, relying solely on family planning…
State-Transition | Sub-Saharan Africa | Health Systems | Health Outcomes | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2011Model-Based Analyses to Compare Health and Economic Outcomes of Cancer Control: Inclusion of Disparities
In order to identify strategies that improve both population health and ensure its equitable distribution, …
In order to identify strategies that improve both population health and ensure its equitable distribution, the authors developed a typology of cancer disparities that considers types of inequalities among black, white, and Hispanic populations across different cancers. This paper reports on the typology using an existing disease simulation model of cervical cancer that was calibrated to clinical, epidemiological, and cost data in the United States and presents characteristics important for policy discussions. The typology proposed…
State-Transition | North America | Health Systems | Priority Setting/Ethics | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Clinical Care | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2009Cost-Effectiveness of HPV Vaccination and Cervical Cancer Screening in Women Aged 30+ Years in the U.S.
The objective of the study was to assess the health and economic outcomes of HPV …
The objective of the study was to assess the health and economic outcomes of HPV vaccination in older U.S. women. The authors conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis with an empirically calibrated model using data from published literature; interventions included HPV vaccination added to screening strategies that differ by test (cytology or HPV DNA testing), frequency, and start age versus screening alone.They found that in the context of annual or biennial screening, HPV vaccination of women aged…
Microsimulation | North America | Infectious Diseases | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Clinical Care | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology