Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2023Single-Arm Trial Design Estimates Efficacy
Studies to confirm the efficacy of a single HPV vaccine dose, of vaccine durability, and …
Studies to confirm the efficacy of a single HPV vaccine dose, of vaccine durability, and of vaccination modifications are needed, but randomized controlled trials are costly and face logistical and ethical challenges. In this study, the authors demonstrate proof-of-principle that a single-arm design yields valid estimates with similar precision to a randomized controlled trial.
Health Outcomes | Global | Policy/Regulation | Infectious Diseases | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2021Toward Universal Health Coverage Post-COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, advancement toward universal health coverage will become more difficult …
During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, advancement toward universal health coverage will become more difficult for many countries, demonstrating that locally led priority setting is urgently needed to provide health services with appropriate financial protection to all. Resources are limited and no national constituency can provide an unlimited number of services to their whole population in a sustainable manner, so rationing and setting priorities for the selection of interventions to be included in a defined…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Global | Policy/Regulation -
ArticlePublication 2021COVID-19 Mortality and Self-Imposed Behavior Change/Government Regulations
Countries have adopted different approaches, at different times, to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. Cross-country …
Countries have adopted different approaches, at different times, to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. Cross-country comparison could indicate the relative efficacy of these approaches. This article assesses various nonpharmaceutical interventions, comparing the effects of voluntary behavior change and of changes enforced via official regulations, by examining their impacts on subsequent death rates. Voluntarily reduced mobility, occurring prior to government policies, decreases the percent change in deaths per day by 9.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.5–14.0).…
Health Outcomes | Global | Policy/Regulation | Infectious Diseases -
ArticlePublication 2022COVID-19 Response: The Need for Economic Evaluation
COVID-19-related policies are fraught with trade-offs. Many of these trade-offs involve dimensions that can be …
COVID-19-related policies are fraught with trade-offs. Many of these trade-offs involve dimensions that can be quantitatively weighed using economic evaluation, such as those between health and cost outcomes. Other types of dimensions, such as those involving equity or autonomy, can be harder to quantify but should be considered in a comprehensive health policy decision-making context nonetheless. The authors of this New England Journal of Medicine Perspectives article outline how methods of economic evaluation and decision…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Global | Policy/Regulation | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2021Rational Policymaking during a Pandemic
Policymaking during a pandemic can be extremely challenging. As COVID-19 is a new disease and …
Policymaking during a pandemic can be extremely challenging. As COVID-19 is a new disease and its global impacts are unprecedented, decisions are taken in a highly uncertain, complex, and rapidly changing environment. In such a context, in which human lives and the economy are at stake, the authors argue that using ideas and constructs from modern decision theory, even informally, will make policymaking a more responsible and transparent process.
Priority Setting/Ethics | Global | Policy/Regulation | Decision Theory | Infectious Diseases | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2018Consequences of a Cigarette Price Increase in 13 Middle Income Countries
This study used extended cost-effectiveness analysis to examine the impact of a 50% increase in …
This study used extended cost-effectiveness analysis to examine the impact of a 50% increase in market prices of cigarettes on health, poverty, and financial protection for men in 13 middle income countries. A 50% increase in cigarette prices would lead to about 450 million years of life gained across the 13 countries from smoking cessation, with half of these in China. Across all countries, men in the bottom income group would gain 6.7 times more…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Global | Policy/Regulation | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2018HTA and MCDA Solely or Combined? The Case of Priority-Setting in Colombia
Given the limited resources available worldwide, healthcare systems face problems of justice and efficiency related …
Given the limited resources available worldwide, healthcare systems face problems of justice and efficiency related to setting priorities. Two methods, Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) have emerged as tools to assist in informed decision-making, but both have advantages and disadvantages. Colombia established a Health Technology Assessment Institute in 2012. The authors discuss challenges faced by the Colombian health system, characteristics of HTA in Colombia and the potential benefits and drawbacks of…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Latin America & Caribbean | Policy/Regulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2017Making Fair Choices on the Path to UHC: Applying Principles to Difficult Cases
Progress toward universal health coverage (UHC) requires making difficult trade-offs. The World Health Organization (WHO) …
Progress toward universal health coverage (UHC) requires making difficult trade-offs. The World Health Organization (WHO) Consultative Group on Equity and UHC has endorsed the principles for making such decisions. These principles include maximizing population health, priority for the worse off, and shielding people from health-related financial risks. But how should one apply these principles in particular cases, and how should one adjudicate between them when their demands conflict? This article by some members of the…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Global | Policy/Regulation | Health Systems | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2017Using Cost-Effectiveness Analysis to Address Health Equity Concerns
This article serves as a guide to using cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) to address health equity …
This article serves as a guide to using cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) to address health equity concerns. The authors introduce the "equity impact plane," a tool for considering trade-offs between improving total health-the objective underpinning conventional CEA-and equity objectives, such as reducing social inequality in health or prioritizing the severely ill. Improving total health may clash with reducing social inequality in health, for example, when effective delivery of services to disadvantaged communities requires additional costs. Who…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Global | Policy/Regulation | Preferences/Values | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Health/Medicine