Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2017Policy Makers, the International Community and the Population: Case Study on HIV/AIDS
A four-period game is developed between a policy maker, the international community, and the population. …
A four-period game is developed between a policy maker, the international community, and the population. This research supplements, through implementing strategic interaction, earlier research analyzing "one player at a time." The first two players distribute funds between preventing and treating diseases. The population reacts by degree of risky behavior which may cause no disease, disease contraction, recovery, sickness/death. More funds to prevention implies less disease contraction but higher death rate given disease contraction. The cost…
Mathematical Models | Decision Psychology | Health/Medicine | Infectious Diseases | Priority Setting/Ethics | Health Systems | Global Governance | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Global -
ReviewPublication 2016Decision Support for Infectious Disease Control
This report from RAND reviews decision-support tools, including models and nonmodeling approaches, that are relevant to …
This report from RAND reviews decision-support tools, including models and nonmodeling approaches, that are relevant to infectious disease prevention, detection, and response and aligns these tools with real-world policy questions that the tools can help address. This overview is designed to help modelers and other technical experts understand the questions that policymakers will raise and the decisions they must make. The report also presents policymakers with the capabilities and limitations of the different tools that may…
Mathematical Models | Military/Defense | Health/Medicine | Infectious Diseases | State-Transition | Dynamic Transmission | Microsimulation | Dynamic Simulation | Global Governance | Government/Law | Global -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2014Maths and Our Health
This learning module provides teaching packs to explore biomedical real-world applications of probability and statistics …
This learning module provides teaching packs to explore biomedical real-world applications of probability and statistics in decision-making. Each pack provides videos and supplemental materials, including presentations, worksheets, and games. Topics include: “Eating Bacon Sandwiches is Bad for You!” Evaluating Risk Epidemics: Modelling with Mathematics Life Saving Maths: How Does Vaccination Work? The Economics of Health: How Do We Decide? The Test is Positive: But What Are the Odds It’s Wrong?
Mathematical Models | Decision Theory | Health/Medicine | Infectious Diseases | Test Performance | Decision Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Economics/Finance | Science/Technology | Global | Middle School | High School | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Quantitative Literacy -
ArticlePublication 2008Cost-Effectiveness of Rapid Point-of-Care Prenatal Syphilis Screening in Sub-Saharan Africa
This paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of using rapid point-of-care tests for prenatal syphilis screening among …
This paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of using rapid point-of-care tests for prenatal syphilis screening among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, a region with syphilis prevalence rates as high as 17%, and where traditional multi-test screening methods have been challenging to implement. Focusing on newly available rapid point-of-care screening tests, strategies differed by the initial test [rapid plasma reagin (RPR), immunochromographic strip (ICS)], need for confirmation with Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay, and number of visits required.…
Mathematical Models | Health/Medicine | Infectious Diseases | Costing Methods | Test Performance | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Technology Assessment | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Clinical Care | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2022Estimated Transmission Outcomes and Costs of SARS-CoV-2 Diagnostic Testing, Screening, and Surveillance Strategies Among a Simulated Population of Primary School Students
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic's significant educational disruptions, the U.S. government allocated $10 …
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic's significant educational disruptions, the U.S. government allocated $10 billion in March 2021 for testing in schools. The study aimed to analyze the costs and benefits of different COVID-19 testing strategies, particularly focusing on full-time, in-person elementary and middle school education. Utilizing an updated agent-based network model, the study simulated transmission scenarios in schools, considering various testing strategies ranging from diagnostic testing (test-to-stay) to reduce symptom-based isolations, routine screening…
Mathematical Models | Health/Medicine | Infectious Diseases | Test Performance | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Clinical Care | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2022Modeling the Effectiveness of Healthcare Personnel Reactive Testing and Screening for the SARS-Cov-2 Omicron Variant within Nursing Homes
The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been hypothesized to exhibit faster clearance (time from peak …
The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been hypothesized to exhibit faster clearance (time from peak viral concentration to clearance of acute infection), may be less detectable by antigen tests (decreased sensitivity), and may be more likely to evade immunity conferred by past infection or vaccination) compared to prior variants. This calls for a reassessment of strategies to prevent its spread, especially in vulnerable settings like nursing homes. Using a model that tracks viral shedding patterns,…
Mathematical Models | Health/Medicine | Infectious Diseases | Test Performance | North America -
ArticlePublication 2023Benefits and Costs of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
Written mid-pandemic, this article evaluates the direct costs and health benefits of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations …
Written mid-pandemic, this article evaluates the direct costs and health benefits of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for U.S. federal employees and healthcare and private sector workers. These mandates were controversial and some were halted by litigation. If they had been implemented as intended, the net benefits would depend on the course of the pandemic. If a more transmissible variant (such as Omicron) emerges, the net benefits may be large. If the pandemic instead fades, the benefits…
Mathematical Models | Health/Medicine | Infectious Diseases | State-Transition | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | North America -
ArticlePublication 2023Cost-Effectiveness of Novel TB Vaccines: A Modeling Study
A modeling study assessed future costs, cost-savings, and cost-effectiveness of introducing novel tuberculosis (TB) vaccines …
A modeling study assessed future costs, cost-savings, and cost-effectiveness of introducing novel tuberculosis (TB) vaccines in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) for a range of product characteristics and delivery strategies, compared to a ‘no-new-vaccine’ counterfactual. Vaccine scenarios considered two vaccine product profiles (one targeted at infants, one at adolescents/adults), both assumed to prevent progression to active TB. Vaccine introduction was estimated to require substantial near-term resources, offset by future cost-savings from averted TB burden.…
Mathematical Models | Health/Medicine | Infectious Diseases | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Economics/Finance | Global -
ArticlePublication 2022Vaccinations versus Lockdowns to Prevent COVID-19 Mortality
This analysis estimated the costs associated with preventing Covid-19 deaths by vaccinations versus lockdowns. Publicly …
This analysis estimated the costs associated with preventing Covid-19 deaths by vaccinations versus lockdowns. Publicly available datasets from the Israeli Ministry of Health were used to model the parameters of the pandemic in Israel. The Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker was used for quantitative data on government policies. Data on the Israeli economy were taken from the Central Bureau of Statistics. The models demonstrate that the first lockdown prevented 1022 COVID-19 deaths at the cost…
Decision Theory | Health/Medicine | Infectious Diseases | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | State-Transition | Decision Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Middle East & North Africa