Resources Repository
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ReviewPublication 2016Choosing an Epidemiological Model Structure for Economic Evaluation
This review presents a taxonomy of epidemiological model structures and applies it to the economic …
This review presents a taxonomy of epidemiological model structures and applies it to the economic evaluation of public health interventions for non-communicable diseases. Growing pressures on health services and on social care have led to a greater need for prevention of chronic diseases. In order for decision makers to make informed judgements about how to best spend finite public health resources, they must be able to quantify the anticipated costs, benefits, and opportunity costs of…
Dynamic Simulation | Microsimulation | Mathematical Models | Dynamic Transmission | State-Transition | Health Systems | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Environmental Health | Climate/Environment | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine -
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…
Dynamic Simulation | Microsimulation | Mathematical Models | Dynamic Transmission | State-Transition | Global Governance | Infectious Diseases | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Military/Defense | Global -
ReviewPublication 2014Markov Modeling & Discrete Event Simulation in Health Care: Systematic Comparison
This review assesses whether the use of Markov modeling (MM) or discrete event simulation (DES) …
This review assesses whether the use of Markov modeling (MM) or discrete event simulation (DES) for cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) may alter healthcare resource allocation decisions. A systematic literature search and review of empirical and non-empirical studies comparing MM and DES techniques used in the CEA of healthcare technologies was conducted. The primary advantages described for DES over MM were the ability to model queuing for limited resources, capture individual patient histories, accommodate complexity and uncertainty,…
Microsimulation | Mathematical Models | State-Transition | Health Systems | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine -
EditorialPublication 2020Waiting for Certainty on COVID-19 Antibody Tests — At What Cost?
This perspective anticipates the availability of serologic antibody testing and considers its potential usefulness in mitigation …
This perspective anticipates the availability of serologic antibody testing and considers its potential usefulness in mitigation policy to reduce COVID-19 transmission. For example: Could we screen for serologic antibodies as a proxy for possible immunity and identify people who could return to the workplace with less severe mitigation measures? The authors acknowledge the uncertainties raised by many policy actors, including the WHO, such as, "Do antibodies confer immunity and, if so, for how long? How accurate is…
Probability/Bayes | Test Performance | Health Systems | Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Global | North America -
ReviewPublication 2016Review: CEA for Maternal, Newborn, Child Health
This chapter summarizes the findings of a systematic search of the cost-effectiveness literature on interventions …
This chapter summarizes the findings of a systematic search of the cost-effectiveness literature on interventions to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health. Interventions for newborn health, treatment of febrile illness, immunization against preventable diseases, and micronutrient interventions remain among the most cost-effective and affordable. Other studies explore how to provide existing interventions using new platforms to increase outreach or decrease cost per person covered, or both. Interventions provided in the community may achieve both purposes to…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Health Systems | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Costing Methods | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Child/Nutrition | Education/Labor | Health/Medicine | Global -
GuidelinesPublication 2011HPV Vaccine Introduction in LMIC's: Guidance on the Use of Cost-Effectiveness Models
This article is a literature review of HPV vaccination models suitable for low-income and middle-income …
This article is a literature review of HPV vaccination models suitable for low-income and middle-income country use to provide information about the feasibility of using such models in a developing country setting. The authors evaluated models in terms of their capacity, requirements, limitations and comparability. Their literature review identified six HPV vaccination models suitable for low-income and middle-income country use and representative of the literature in terms of provenance and model structure. Each model was…
Mathematical Models | Calibration/Validation | Health Systems | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Chronic Disease/Risk | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global -
ReviewPublication 2001Modeling for Health Care and Other Policy Decisions: Uses, Roles and Validity
This is a review article of the role of modeling approaches to guide decision making …
This is a review article of the role of modeling approaches to guide decision making in health care and other domains. The role of models to support recommendations on the cost-effective use of medical technologies and pharmaceuticals is controversial. At the heart of the controversy is the degree to which experimental or other empirical evidence should be required prior to model use. The authors argue that the controversy stems in part from a misconception that…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Mathematical Models | Health Systems | Evidence Synthesis | Technology Assessment | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Climate/Environment | Economics/Finance | Energy/Engineering | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | North America -
ReviewPublication 2022Significance of Advanced COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing in Pandemic Control Measures
Over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community has mounted significant …
Over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community has mounted significant efforts to combat the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 virus. Despite substantial progress in vaccines and treatments, leading to lower hospitalization and death rates, the virus has continued to evolve, primarily through mutations. From the onset, diagnostic tests have been crucial in identifying and controlling the virus spread. The scientific world has pioneered various diagnostic techniques, including nucleic acid, antigen, and antibody-based…
Test Performance | Health Systems | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America -
ReviewPublication 2022Diagnostics for COVID-19: Moving from Pandemic Response to Control
Diagnostics are essential in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, with three primary methods for detecting SARS-CoV-2 …
Diagnostics are essential in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, with three primary methods for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infections. Each test type remains vital as we shift from responding to controlling the pandemic. Molecular tests, like PCR, are highly precise in identifying viral RNA and are endorsed by the WHO for confirming cases and guiding public health actions. Antigen rapid tests spot viral proteins and, while less accurate than molecular tests, are quicker, more affordable, simpler, and can…
Test Performance | Health Systems | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology