Resources Repository
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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…
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | 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 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 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…
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Evidence Synthesis | Mathematical Models | Health/Medicine | Global -
ArticlePublication 2019Decision-Making for Universal Access to Tuberculosis Diagnosis In India
The authors evaluated the costs of centralized and decentralized testing for tuberculosis with Xpert MTB/RIF …
The authors evaluated the costs of centralized and decentralized testing for tuberculosis with Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert), a WHO-endorsed test. They used an agent-based simulation of TB transmission in a hypothetical representative region in India to assess the impact and cost-effectiveness of various strategies to provide universal access to diagnosis and drug susceptibility testing (DST) for tuberculosis. The authors found that decentralization was most favorable compared to centralized testing when volume at decentralized facilities was high,…
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Microsimulation | Health/Medicine | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2019POC Diagnosis of TB With Truenat Assay: CEA for India's Public Sector
Using a microsimulation model, the authors compared four TB diagnostic strategies for HIV-negative adults with …
Using a microsimulation model, the authors compared four TB diagnostic strategies for HIV-negative adults with presumptive TB in order to evaluate the potential cost-effectiveness of strategies that incorporate Truenat, a molecular assay that rapidly detects TB and rifampicin-resistance. They projected life expectancy, costs, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs), and 5-year budget impact of deploying Truenat POC in India's public sector. Used at the point-of-care in India, Truenat for TB diagnosis should improve linkage-to-care, increase life expectancy,…
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Microsimulation | Health/Medicine | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2019Assessment of the Feasibility and Cost of Hepatitis C Elimination in Pakistan
This study investigates the feasibility and cost of hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination in Pakistan …
This study investigates the feasibility and cost of hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination in Pakistan using a decision analytical model and microsimulation techniques from 2015 to 2030. Various scenarios, including the status quo and seven elimination strategies, were evaluated based on Pakistan-specific variables. Main outcomes included trends in HCV prevalence, mortality, disability-adjusted life-years, and total costs of HCV care. Results suggest that to achieve HCV elimination by 2030, significant scale-up of testing and treatment is…
Decision Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health/Medicine | Asia & Pacific