Resources Repository
-
ReviewPublication 2001Modeling for Health Care and Other Policy Decisions: Uses, Roles and Validity
This is a review article of the role of modeling approaches to guide decision making …
This is a review article of the role of modeling approaches to guide decision making in health care and other domains. The role of models to support recommendations on the cost-effective use of medical technologies and pharmaceuticals is controversial. At the heart of the controversy is the degree to which experimental or other empirical evidence should be required prior to model use. The authors argue that the controversy stems in part from a misconception that…
Evidence Synthesis | Priority Setting/Ethics | Mathematical Models | Energy/Engineering | Health/Medicine | Economics/Finance | Policy/Regulation | Technology Assessment | Environmental Health | Health Systems | Business/Industry | Climate/Environment | Government/Law | North America -
ReviewPublication 1982Decision Analysis: An Overview
This article, written for the non-decision analyst, describes what decision analysis is, what it can …
This article, written for the non-decision analyst, describes what decision analysis is, what it can and cannot do, why one should care to do this, and how one does it. Keeney describes decision analysis as "a formalization of common sense for decision problems which are too complex for informal use of common sense." He provides a more technical definition also, describing decision analysis as "a philosophy, articulated by a set of logical axioms, and a methodology…
Preferences/Values | Decision Theory | Energy/Engineering | Health/Medicine | Economics/Finance | Science/Technology | Policy/Regulation | Decision Analysis | Business/Industry | Government/Law | Military/Defense -
Working PaperPublication 2018Valuing Mortality Risk Reductions in Global Benefit-Cost Analysis
Increasing life expectancy is a major goal of many policies implemented around the world. As …
Increasing life expectancy is a major goal of many policies implemented around the world. As a result, the value of reducing mortality risk has been extensively studied and several organizations have developed recommendations for estimating these values in benefit-cost analysis. However, both the recommendations and the underlying research primarily address high-income settings, raising questions about the extent to which the results are applicable in low- and middle-income countries. The recommendations are also diverse, reflecting differing…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | Economics/Finance | Policy/Regulation | Health Outcomes | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Global -
Working PaperPublication 2018Valuing Nonfatal Health Risk Reductions
This paper explores approaches for valuing nonfatal risk reductions associated with policy choices in low- …
This paper explores approaches for valuing nonfatal risk reductions associated with policy choices in low- and middle-income countries. The approach for valuation ideally would be based on estimates of individuals’ willingness to pay for changes in their own risks. However, high quality valuation research is not available for many nonfatal conditions even in high-income settings. Typically, two approaches are used either alone or in combination as rough proxies. The first involves applying an estimate of…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | Economics/Finance | Policy/Regulation | Health Outcomes | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Global | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
ReviewPublication 2016Cochrane Review: Strategies to Improve the Implementation of Obesity Prevention
Despite the existence of effective interventions and best-practice guideline recommendations for childcare services to implement …
Despite the existence of effective interventions and best-practice guideline recommendations for childcare services to implement policies, practices, and programs to promote child healthy eating, physical activity, and prevent unhealthy weight gain, many services fail to do so. The primary aim of the review was to examine the effectiveness of strategies aimed to improve the implementation of policies, practices, or programs by childcare services that promote child healthy eating, physical activity, and/or obesity prevention. The secondary…
Evidence Synthesis | Health/Medicine | Culture/Society | Policy/Regulation | Clinical Care | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Education/Labor | Global -
ReviewPublication 2016Strengthening Cost-Effectiveness Analysis for Public Health Policy
Many important opportunities to improve health lie outside the health sector and involve improving the …
Many important opportunities to improve health lie outside the health sector and involve improving the conditions in which we live and work: safe design and maintenance of roads, bridges, train tracks, and airports; control of environmental pollutants; occupational safety; healthy buildings; a safe and healthy food supply; safe manufacture of consumer products; a healthy social environment; and others. Faced with the overwhelming array of possibilities, U.S. decision makers need help identifying those that can contribute the…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | Economics/Finance | Policy/Regulation | Costing Methods | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Social Determinants | Environmental Health | Health Systems | Climate/Environment | Food/Agriculture | North America -
Working PaperPublication 2015Benefit-Cost Analysis and the Cities
This paper provides a short introduction to the use of benefit-cost analysis to assess interventions …
This paper provides a short introduction to the use of benefit-cost analysis to assess interventions undertaken at the city or municipal level. It introduces the concepts that underlie the conduct of benefit-cost analysis, describes the major analytic components, and discusses how to tailor the analysis to the characteristics of the policy and the resources available. It concludes with a list of references for those interested in learning more.
Priority Setting/Ethics | Preferences/Values | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Policy/Regulation | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Environmental Health | Climate/Environment | Government/Law | North America | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
ReviewPublication 2015Medicare's Use of CEA for Prevention (But Not Treatment)
Medicare currently pays for 23 preventive services in its benefits package, the majority of which …
Medicare currently pays for 23 preventive services in its benefits package, the majority of which were added since 2005. In the past decade, the program has transformed from one essentially administering treatment claims, to one increasingly focused on health promotion and maintenance. What is largely unappreciated is the role cost-effectiveness analysis has played in the coverage of preventive services. This study reviews the role of cost-effectiveness analysis in Medicare coverage of preventive services and contrast it…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Health/Medicine | Economics/Finance | Policy/Regulation | Infectious Diseases | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Technology Assessment | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Government/Law | North America -
ReviewPublication 2014Valuing Vaccination
Vaccination has led to remarkable health gains over the last century. However, large coverage gaps …
Vaccination has led to remarkable health gains over the last century. However, large coverage gaps remain, which will require significant financial resources and political will to address. In recent years, a compelling line of inquiry has established the economic benefits of health, at both the individual and aggregate levels. Most existing economic evaluations of particular health interventions fail to account for this new research, leading to potentially sizable undervaluation of those interventions. In line with…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | Economics/Finance | Infectious Diseases | Costing Methods | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Health Systems | Global