Resources Repository
-
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 -
ArticlePublication 2020Interpreting COVID-19 Test Results: A Bayesian Approach
This article considers the following question with respect to interpreting the results of polymerase chain reaction …
This article considers the following question with respect to interpreting the results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays from nasal and pharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 to inform clinical decision making: "While a positive result in an acutely ill patient is straightforward, how should physicians interpret negative tests in patients with suspected COVID-19 infection?" Using an assumption of near-perfect specificity of PCR assays for COVID-19, the authors acknowledge the uncertainty of test sensitivity. They consider two clinical scenarios…
Infectious Diseases | Probability/Bayes | Test Performance | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global -
ArticlePublication 2020Financial Burden of HIV and TB
This article, published in BMJ Open, aims to estimate the household economic burden and incidence …
This article, published in BMJ Open, aims to estimate the household economic burden and incidence of catastrophic health expenditures (CHE) incurred as a result of HIV and TB care across income quintiles in Ethiopia. The economic burden of HIV and TB care is estimated looking at direct and indirect costs, whereas the incidence of CHE is determined using direct costs that exceed 10% of the household income threshold. HIV and TB are found to cause…
Infectious Diseases | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ToolInteractive, Teaching Resource 2020RAND Critical Care Surge Response Tool
This Excel-based model allows decisionmakers at all levels (i.e., hospitals, health care systems, states, regions) …
This Excel-based model allows decisionmakers at all levels (i.e., hospitals, health care systems, states, regions) to examine the current critical care capacity in the nation’s hospitals and rapidly explore strategies for increasing capacity to provide care for the sickest COVID-19 patients. The tool was developed by the RAND Corporation in response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Model input parameters to the Excel spreadsheet include baseline number of beds, critical care doctors and nurses, respiratory therapists,…
Infectious Diseases | Priority Setting/Ethics | Mathematical Models | Operations Research | Health/Medicine | North America | Professional | Policy Translation -
ArticlePublication 2020Health Gains & Financial Risk Protection Afforded by Public Financing of Selected Malaria Interventions in Ethiopia: An ECEA
This article, published in the Malaria Journal, aims to estimate the expected health and financial …
This article, published in the Malaria Journal, aims to estimate the expected health and financial risk protection (FRP) benefits of universal public financing of key malaria interventions in Ethiopia. An extended cost-effectiveness analysis (ECEA) is used to estimate the potential health and FRP benefits of publicly financing a 10% increase in artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLIN), indoor residual spraying (IRS), and a hypothetical malaria vaccine. The results indicate that ACT, LLIN,…
Infectious Diseases | Priority Setting/Ethics | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2017Catastrophic Costs Potentially Averted by TB Control in India and South Africa
This study estimated the reduction in tuberculosis-related catastrophic costs with an aggressive expansion of tuberculosis …
This study estimated the reduction in tuberculosis-related catastrophic costs with an aggressive expansion of tuberculosis services in India and South Africa from 2016 to 2035, in line with the End TB Strategy. The authors investigated three intervention scenarios: improved treatment of drug-sensitive tuberculosis; improved treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis; and expansion of access to tuberculosis care through intensified case finding (South Africa only). In India and South Africa, improvements in treatment for drug-sensitive and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis…
Infectious Diseases | Priority Setting/Ethics | Mathematical Models | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2019Health and Financial Benefits of Averting Malaria in Zambia: An ECEA
This study used the extended cost-effectiveness analysis (ECEA) to examine impact of the hypothetical rollout …
This study used the extended cost-effectiveness analysis (ECEA) to examine impact of the hypothetical rollout of the malaria vaccine RTS,S/AS01 in Zambia on the health benefits of children under five, and financial benefits on their households. The authors assumed a three-dose vaccination schedule (over 6-9 months), and vaccine cost of US$5 per dose. To assess vaccine impact, for each income quintile, they computed the number of under-five malaria deaths prevented, the household out-of-pocket (OOP) malaria-related…
Infectious Diseases | Priority Setting/Ethics | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2018Poverty Reduction & Equity Benefits of Measles, Rotavirus and Pneumococcal Vaccines in LMICs
This study uses the extended cost effectiveness analysis (ECEA) to evaluate the impact of immunization …
This study uses the extended cost effectiveness analysis (ECEA) to evaluate the impact of immunization against measles, severe pneumococcal disease and severe rotavirus for birth cohorts vaccinated over 2016–2030 for three scenarios in 41 Gavi-eligible countries: no immunization, current immunization coverage forecasts and the current immunization coverage enhanced with funding support. Following the distribution of the cases by socioeconomic group, the study found that the number of catastrophic health costs (CHC) cases attributable to measles,…
Infectious Diseases | Priority Setting/Ethics | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Health/Medicine | Global -
BookPublication 2019Non-Communicable Disease Prevention: Best Buys, Wasted Buys, Contestable Buys
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide, and the majority of these …
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide, and the majority of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. This book provides practical guidelines and lessons learned through real-world case studies. It is intended to be informative to NCD program managers, policy officers and decision-makers in low- and middle-income countries, who need to comparatively assess interventions for the prevention and control of NCDs.The authors emphasize the importance of context in NCD control…
Infectious Diseases | Priority Setting/Ethics | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Technology Assessment | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Global