Resources Repository
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Working PaperPublication 2024Economic Evaluation Primer
Economic evaluation is a powerful tool, encouraging the systematic collection and assessment of the evidence …
Economic evaluation is a powerful tool, encouraging the systematic collection and assessment of the evidence needed to support sound policy decisions. In low- and middle-income countries, where resources are especially scarce and needs are very great, such decisions are exceptionally difficult. In these settings, economic evaluation can be particularly useful in determining how to best improve health and welfare. Typically, cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is used to prioritize interventions within the health care sector. This approach…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Global | Policy/Regulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis -
ReviewPublication 2023Handbook of Vaccine Health Economics
The open-access book, "Handbook of Applied Health Economics in Vaccines," looks at the complexities of …
The open-access book, "Handbook of Applied Health Economics in Vaccines," looks at the complexities of vaccine discovery, financing, and distribution. It highlights the inadequacy of standard economic models for vaccines. The book explores alternative principles challenging market-based approaches and equips readers with tools for assessing costs and benefits through practical exercises. It serves as a comprehensive resource for decision-making in vaccine development and distribution and emphasizes the importance of considering broader perspectives beyond economic efficiency.…
Evidence Synthesis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Global | Policy/Regulation | Decision Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health/Medicine | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional -
ArticlePublication 2022Emerging Therapies for COVID-19: The Value of Information From More Clinical Trials
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated time-sensitive policy and implementation decisions regarding new therapies in the face …
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated time-sensitive policy and implementation decisions regarding new therapies in the face of uncertainty. This study aimed to quantify consequences of approving therapies or pursuing further research. The authors used a cohort state-transition model for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 to estimate quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and costs associated with multiple drug regimens and usual care. For each they assessed immediate approval, use only in research, emergency use authorization or reject. They conducted cost-effectiveness…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | State-Transition | Value of Information | Europe | Policy/Regulation | Infectious Diseases | Economics/Finance | North America -
Working PaperPublication 2018Valuing Nonfatal Health Risk Reductions
This paper explores approaches for valuing nonfatal risk reductions associated with policy choices in low- …
This paper explores approaches for valuing nonfatal risk reductions associated with policy choices in low- and middle-income countries. The approach for valuation ideally would be based on estimates of individuals’ willingness to pay for changes in their own risks. However, high quality valuation research is not available for many nonfatal conditions even in high-income settings. Typically, two approaches are used either alone or in combination as rough proxies. The first involves applying an estimate of…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Health Outcomes | Global | Policy/Regulation | Preferences/Values | Decision Analysis | Social Determinants | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
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 | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Global | Policy/Regulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2016Accounting for Technical, Ethical, and Political Factors in Priority Setting
This article investigates two cases of priority setting to explore how, in addition to technical …
This article investigates two cases of priority setting to explore how, in addition to technical considerations, ethical and political factors shape the allocation of health resources. First, they discuss how Thai authorities adjudicated a coverage decision for HLA-B*1502 screening, which meets the national cost-effectiveness threshold for only some of the conditions it can detect. Second, they consider England’s Cancer Drugs Fund to investigate the interplay of technical decision making and political reality. The findings suggest four concluding…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Europe | Global | Policy/Regulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Climate/Environment | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2016Using Cost-Effectiveness Evidence to Inform Health Service Provision
This article discusses three challenges of using cost-effectiveness thresholds to inform whether a third-party payer …
This article discusses three challenges of using cost-effectiveness thresholds to inform whether a third-party payer will fund a particular service. First, how is the appropriate cost-effectiveness threshold - or threshold range - to be determined? (And should there be a single threshold or multiple thresholds?) Second, how can the valuation of health benefits be refined to better capture the value of treatments to patients and to the economy as a whole? Third, how should a…
Evidence Synthesis | Priority Setting/Ethics | Global | Policy/Regulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health/Medicine -
ReviewPublication 2013Public Health Economics: Review of Guidance for Economic Evaluation
This is a systematic review of published guidance for the economic evaluation of public health …
This is a systematic review of published guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions. Public Health Economics is the science and art of supporting decision making as to how society can use its available resources to advance health, and minimize opportunity cost. In this review, the authors identified 5 international guidance documents, 7 UK guidance documents and 4 documents by individual commentators. The papers reviewed identify the main methodological challenges that face analysts…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Costing Methods | Europe | Policy/Regulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
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