Resources Repository
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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…
Health Systems | Environmental Health | Priority Setting/Ethics | Evidence Synthesis | Mathematical Models | Technology Assessment | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Climate/Environment | Economics/Finance | Energy/Engineering | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2024Hepatitis C Elimination in Rwanda: Progress, Feasibility, Economic Evaluation
This study evaluates the impact of Rwanda's national program launched in 2018 to eliminate hepatitis …
This study evaluates the impact of Rwanda's national program launched in 2018 to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) and identifies strategies to achieve World Health Organization (WHO) elimination goals by 2030. Employing a microsimulation model spanning 2015 to 2050, the analysis assesses HCV epidemic trends, prevalence, mortality, and total care costs under various scenarios. Results show that between 2018 and 2022, over 7 million people were screened and 60,000 treated, projecting Rwanda's potential achievement of…
Microsimulation | Chronic Disease/Risk | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 1984Using Fire in Forest Management: Decision Making under Uncertainty
Prescribed fires are fires that are started under controlled conditions. This is an important strategy …
Prescribed fires are fires that are started under controlled conditions. This is an important strategy used by professionals in modern forest management. Designing, planning, and executing strategies that rely on prescribed fires is challenging because of multiple uncertainties (e.g., weather, fire behavior, etc.). In this paper, decision analysis techniques are used to evaluate prescribed fire decisions in three national forest case study applications.
Decision Analysis | Environmental Health | Climate/Environment -
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 2023Simulation-Based Comparative Effectiveness Analysis of Policies to Improve Global Maternal Health Outcomes
The Sustainable Development Goals include a target to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) …
The Sustainable Development Goals include a target to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to less than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030, with no individual country exceeding 140. However, on current trends the goals are unlikely to be met. The authors used an empirically calibrated Global Maternal Health microsimulation model, which simulates individual women in 200 countries and territories to evaluate the impact of different interventions and strategies from 2022…
Microsimulation | Health Systems | Health Outcomes | Mathematical Models | Calibration/Validation | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Global