Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2011Model-Based Analyses to Compare Health and Economic Outcomes of Cancer Control: Inclusion of Disparities
In order to identify strategies that improve both population health and ensure its equitable distribution, …
In order to identify strategies that improve both population health and ensure its equitable distribution, the authors developed a typology of cancer disparities that considers types of inequalities among black, white, and Hispanic populations across different cancers. This paper reports on the typology using an existing disease simulation model of cervical cancer that was calibrated to clinical, epidemiological, and cost data in the United States and presents characteristics important for policy discussions. The typology proposed…
Priority Setting/Ethics | State-Transition | Science/Technology | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Clinical Care | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine | North America -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2023Resource Pack: Diagnostic Tests, Bayes, and COVID-19
This resource pack provides a curated set of articles, perspectives, and interactives about diagnostic testing …
This resource pack provides a curated set of articles, perspectives, and interactives about diagnostic testing for COVID-19. The pack provides materials that will be particularly useful for educators who are teaching diagnostic test performance, value of information, and probability revision using Bayes’ theorem. The majority of papers focus on PCR or rapid antigen testing on samples obtained from the respiratory tract by nasopharyngeal swab. The mechanism of false negative results (e.g., timing of sample collection…
Probability/Bayes | Science/Technology | Test Performance | Value of Information | Decision Analysis | Health/Medicine | Global | High School | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Graphics/Visualization | Quantitative Literacy -
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 | Science/Technology | Decision Theory | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Global -
ReportPublication 2017Communicating Science Effectively: A Research Agenda
Science and technology are embedded in virtually every aspect of modern life. As a result, …
Science and technology are embedded in virtually every aspect of modern life. As a result, people face an increasing need to integrate information from science with their personal values and other considerations as they make important life decisions about medical care, the safety of foods, what to do about climate change, and many other issues. Communicating science effectively, however, is a complex task and an acquired skill. Moreover, the approaches to communicating science that will…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Science/Technology | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Social Determinants | Climate/Environment | Culture/Society | Energy/Engineering | Education/Labor | Health/Medicine | North America -
ToolInteractive 2020COVID-19 Antibody Tests: Calculator for Interpreting Test Results
Antibody testing can determine previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus. This interactive calculator, linked to the article …
Antibody testing can determine previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus. This interactive calculator, linked to the article below* on antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2 virus, allows users to vary the prior probability of infection, the sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing, and the specificity of SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing. Key points made in the article accompanying the interactive include: (1) antibody testing is likely to be most useful 2 weeks after infection, (2) sensitivity and specificity will vary over time and…
Probability/Bayes | Science/Technology | Test Performance | Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine -
Tools/ModelsInteractive, Teaching Resource 2020Interactive Graphic: Interpreting a COVID-19 Test Result
Currently, the most common diagnostic test for COVID-19 relies on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction …
Currently, the most common diagnostic test for COVID-19 relies on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and most often uses samples obtained from the respiratory tract by nasopharyngeal swab. This interactive graphic demonstrates the influence of the prior probability of COVID-19, the test sensitivity (i.e., the probability of a positive test conditional on disease presence), and the test specificity (i.e., the probability of a negative test conditional on disease absence) on the post-test probability of…
Probability/Bayes | Science/Technology | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | High School | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Graphics/Visualization | Quantitative Literacy -
ArticlePublication 2020Interpreting COVID-19 Test Results: A Bayesian Approach
This article considers the following question with respect to interpreting the results of polymerase chain reaction …
This article considers the following question with respect to interpreting the results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays from nasal and pharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 to inform clinical decision making: "While a positive result in an acutely ill patient is straightforward, how should physicians interpret negative tests in patients with suspected COVID-19 infection?" Using an assumption of near-perfect specificity of PCR assays for COVID-19, the authors acknowledge the uncertainty of test sensitivity. They consider two clinical scenarios…
Probability/Bayes | Science/Technology | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | Global -
ArticlePublication 2018Cost-Effectiveness of Strategies to Prevent Road Traffic Injuries in Eastern Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia: New Results from WHO-CHOICE
The authors applied a generalized cost-effectiveness analysis (GCEA) approach, applying a null reference case, in …
The authors applied a generalized cost-effectiveness analysis (GCEA) approach, applying a null reference case, in which the effects of currently implemented interventions were subtracted from current rates of burden, in order to identify the most efficient package of interventions that could be applied to Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs). They used a population model to estimate costs and effectiveness of interventions over a 100 year time frame in eastern sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. All heath…
State-Transition | Science/Technology | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Injuries/Accidents | Policy/Regulation | Culture/Society | Sub-Saharan Africa | Asia & Pacific -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2018Resource Pack: Models for Health Decision Science
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, provides broad exposure to …
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, provides broad exposure to mathematical models used in health decision science (e.g., microsimulation, dynamic transmission, agent-based, etc.). Resources include overviews, guidelines, tutorials, and applications relevant to a broad range of clinical and public health topics. A decision analytic approach relies on the use of a mathematical model to formally structure the components of the decision over time. Models are particularly useful when multiple data sources…
State-Transition | Science/Technology | Mathematical Models | Dynamic Transmission | Microsimulation | Dynamic Simulation | Climate/Environment | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine