Resources Repository
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Tutorial/PrimerPublication, Teaching Resource 2024Tutorial: Building Decision Trees
This tutorial illustrates the basic steps needed to develop decision trees in Amua using a …
This tutorial illustrates the basic steps needed to develop decision trees in Amua using a disease screening example. It details the process of how to build the structure of a decision tree, parameterize the model with probabilities and relevant outcomes (i.e., life expectancy), evaluate three alternative screening strategies in a baseline scenario, and perform one-way sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of the results to different parameter values. Amua, the Swahili word meaning “decide”/“solve”, is…
Probability/Bayes | Clinical Care | Mathematical Models | Decision Analysis | Health/Medicine | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional -
ArticlePublication 2013Modeling the Effectiveness of Initial Management Strategies for Ductal Carcinoma in Situ
This paper compares alternative strategies to manage ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The authors used …
This paper compares alternative strategies to manage ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The authors used a disease simulation model to simulate the clinical events after six treatments (lumpectomy alone, lumpectomy with radiation, lumpectomy with radiation and tamoxifen, lumpectomy with tamoxifen, and mastectomy with and without breast reconstruction). Outcomes included disease-free, invasive disease-free, overall survival and breast preservation. Data were from the published literature. The results showed that for women aged 45 years at diagnosis, both mastectomy…
Health Outcomes | Clinical Care | Decision Analysis | Health/Medicine -
ReviewPublication 2023Economic & Humanistic Burden of Osteoarthritis: Systematic Review of Large Sample Studies
This study systematically reviewed and updated the economic and humanistic burden of osteoarthritis (OA) reported …
This study systematically reviewed and updated the economic and humanistic burden of osteoarthritis (OA) reported by large sample studies since 2016. Medline (via Ovid) and Embase were searched using an updated strategy based on a previous review. Studies with a sample size ≥1000 that measured direct or indirect costs or health-related quality of life (HRQL) of OA were included. Pairs of reviewers independently screened studies, and an arbitrator resolved discrepancies. The Kappa value for agreement…
Preferences/Values | Chronic Disease/Risk | Evidence Synthesis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health/Medicine | Global -
ArticlePublication 2023Designing Guidelines for Those Who Do Not Follow Them: Impact of Adherence Assumptions on Optimal Screening Guidelines
This study examines the impact of real-world screening adherence on the cost-effectiveness of cervical cancer …
This study examines the impact of real-world screening adherence on the cost-effectiveness of cervical cancer screening guidelines. Using a microsimulation model of cervical carcinogenesis, the researchers projected long-term health and economic outcomes for 18 screening algorithms under various adherence scenarios. These included perfect adherence, eight high- and low-coverage "random-complier" scenarios, and three "systematic-complier" scenarios reflecting conditional screening behavior over a lifetime. Results showed that perfect adherence favored the least intensive screening strategy, while any level…
Microsimulation | Chronic Disease/Risk | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2023New Type 2 Diabetes Microsimulation Model to Estimate Long-Term Health Outcomes, Costs, Cost-Effectiveness
This study presents a microsimulation model designed to estimate the health effects, costs, and cost-effectiveness …
This study presents a microsimulation model designed to estimate the health effects, costs, and cost-effectiveness of interventions for type 2 diabetes in the United States. Unlike existing models that rely on UK data, this model incorporates newly derived risk equations based on US studies, enhancing its applicability to the US context. The model features a highly modular architecture allowing for easy addition of new modules and interventions, facilitating policy decision-making. Internal validation showed good performance,…
Microsimulation | Chronic Disease/Risk | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2023Context Matters: Emotional Sensitivity to Probabilities and the Bias for Action in Cancer Treatment Decisions
The study investigates the commission bias in cancer treatment decisions and its association with emotional …
The study investigates the commission bias in cancer treatment decisions and its association with emotional sensitivity to probabilities (ESP), which reflects how individuals gauge emotional reactions to probability information. Participants (N = 1,055) made hypothetical treatment choices between surgery and watchful waiting under varying mortality probabilities. Logistic regression analysis, incorporating the Possibility Probability Questionnaire (PPQ) and other individual differences, revealed a commission bias favoring surgery regardless of mortality probabilities. An interaction effect indicated that higher…
Decision Psychology | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2023Calibration and Validation of the Colorectal Cancer and Adenoma Incidence and Mortality (CRC-AIM) Microsimulation Model Using Deep Neural Networks
This study explores the efficacy of machine learning (ML)-based emulators in calibrating complex microsimulation models, …
This study explores the efficacy of machine learning (ML)-based emulators in calibrating complex microsimulation models, using the Colorectal Cancer (CRC)-Adenoma Incidence and Mortality (CRC-AIM) model as a case study. ML algorithms, including deep neural networks (DNN), were trained and compared using data generated from the CRC-AIM model to predict various outcomes. The DNN outperformed other algorithms and efficiently predicted outcomes, reducing computational burden significantly. The calibrated CRC-AIM model demonstrated cross-model validity against established CISNET models…
Microsimulation | Chronic Disease/Risk | Calibration/Validation | Health/Medicine | North America -
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.…
Technology Assessment | Clinical Care | Costing Methods | Test Performance | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2023Achieving the Cancer Moonshot Goal
The Cancer Moonshot seeks to reduce age-standardized cancer mortality rates by at least 50% over …
The Cancer Moonshot seeks to reduce age-standardized cancer mortality rates by at least 50% over the next 25 years. This article estimates trends in U.S. cancer mortality for all cancers and the six leading types and reviews opportunities to prevent, detect, and treat these common cancers.
Priority Setting/Ethics | Clinical Care | Mathematical Models | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | North America