Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2022Comparative Health Systems Analysis of Differences in Catastrophic Health Expenditure
The growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries may have implications …
The growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries may have implications for health system performance in the area of financial risk protection, as measured by catastrophic health expenditure (CHE). This article compares non-communicable diseases catastrophic health expenditure to the CHE cases caused by communicable diseases across health systems to examine whether: (1) disease burden and catastrophic health expenditure are linked, (2) Catastrophic health expenditures secondary to NCDs disproportionately affect wealthier households and (3) whether the drivers…
Evidence Synthesis | Costing Methods | Global | Infectious Diseases | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2017Costing of National STI Program Implementation, 2016-2021
In 2016 the World Health Assembly adopted the Global Strategy on Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) …
In 2016 the World Health Assembly adopted the Global Strategy on Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) 2016–2021 aiming to reduce curable STIs by 90% by 2030. This analysis costed scaling-up priority interventions to achieve coverage targets. Strategy-targeted declines in Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Treponema pallidum and Trichomonas vaginalis were applied to WHO-estimated regional burdens at 2012 levels. Case management was costed for the curable STIs, symptomatic Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (HSV-2), and non-STI vaginal syndromes, with incrementally expanding diagnoses. Service…
Evidence Synthesis | Costing Methods | Global | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2023Single-Arm Trial Design Estimates Efficacy
Studies to confirm the efficacy of a single HPV vaccine dose, of vaccine durability, and …
Studies to confirm the efficacy of a single HPV vaccine dose, of vaccine durability, and of vaccination modifications are needed, but randomized controlled trials are costly and face logistical and ethical challenges. In this study, the authors demonstrate proof-of-principle that a single-arm design yields valid estimates with similar precision to a randomized controlled trial.
Health Outcomes | Global | Infectious Diseases | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2021COVID-19 Mortality and Self-Imposed Behavior Change/Government Regulations
Countries have adopted different approaches, at different times, to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. Cross-country …
Countries have adopted different approaches, at different times, to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. Cross-country comparison could indicate the relative efficacy of these approaches. This article assesses various nonpharmaceutical interventions, comparing the effects of voluntary behavior change and of changes enforced via official regulations, by examining their impacts on subsequent death rates. Voluntarily reduced mobility, occurring prior to government policies, decreases the percent change in deaths per day by 9.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.5–14.0).…
Health Outcomes | Global | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation -
ArticlePublication 2020Perceptions of COVID-19 around the World
This study evaluates public risk perception of COVID-19 around the world in ten countries across …
This study evaluates public risk perception of COVID-19 around the world in ten countries across Europe, America, and Asia. They found that significant predictors of risk perception included personal experience with the virus, individualistic and prosocial values, hearing about the virus from friends and family, trust in government, science, and medical professionals, personal knowledge of government strategy, and personal and collective efficacy. Although there was substantial variability across cultures, individualistic worldviews, personal experience, prosocial values,…
Risk Analysis | Global | Infectious Diseases | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine -
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…
Test Performance | Global | Infectious Diseases | Probability/Bayes | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2019Systematic Review of Economic Evaluations of Vaccination Strategies Against Tuberculosis
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the only licensed vaccine for tuberculosis, but its effectiveness is limited …
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the only licensed vaccine for tuberculosis, but its effectiveness is limited and varies by age, so a valid cost-effectiveness study is needed to assist decision-makers in the implementation of cost-effective strategies for BCG vaccination. Using the Quality of Health Economic Studies (QHES) instrument, the authors assessed the quality of published studies involving economic evaluations of BCG vaccination strategies in a variety of regions, target populations, and vaccine types. Most of the…
Evidence Synthesis | Global | Infectious Diseases | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2017Estimating the Fitness Cost and Benefit of Cefixime Resistance in Neisseria Gonorrhoeae
Gonorrhoea is one of the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infections in England, and more …
Gonorrhoea is one of the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infections in England, and more than half of annual infections occur in men who have sex with men (MSM). As the bacterium has developed resistance to each first-line antibiotic in turn, an improved understanding is needed of fitness benefits and costs of antibiotic resistance to inform control policy and planning. The authors developed a stochastic compartmental model representing the natural history and transmission of cefixime-sensitive…
Risk Analysis | Global | Infectious Diseases | Dynamic Transmission | Decision Analysis | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2017Cost-Effectiveness of Testing and Treatment for Latent TB
Testing for and treating latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is among the main strategies to achieve …
Testing for and treating latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is among the main strategies to achieve TB elimination in the United States. This analysis estimated health outcomes, costs, and cost-effectiveness of LTBI testing and treatment among non-US born residents with and without medical comorbidities (e.g., diabetes, HIV infection, and end-stage renal disease). A decision analytic tree and Markov cohort simulation model was used to compare the following strategies: no testing, tuberculin skin test (TST), interferon gamma release assay…
Test Performance | Global | Infectious Diseases | State-Transition | Microsimulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | North America