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 | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Global -
ArticlePublication 2008Cost-Effectiveness of Rapid Point-of-Care Prenatal Syphilis Screening in Sub-Saharan Africa
This paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of using rapid point-of-care tests for prenatal syphilis screening among …
This paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of using rapid point-of-care tests for prenatal syphilis screening among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, a region with syphilis prevalence rates as high as 17%, and where traditional multi-test screening methods have been challenging to implement. Focusing on newly available rapid point-of-care screening tests, strategies differed by the initial test [rapid plasma reagin (RPR), immunochromographic strip (ICS)], need for confirmation with Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay, and number of visits required.…
Test Performance | Technology Assessment | Costing Methods | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
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 | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Global | North America -
ArticlePublication 2020Impact of Treatment and Imaging Modalities on 5-Year Net Survival of 11 Cancers in 200 Countries
This analysis describes the development of a microsimulation model of stage-specific cancer survival in 200 …
This analysis describes the development of a microsimulation model of stage-specific cancer survival in 200 countries/territories for 11 cancers (oesophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, anus, liver, pancreas, lung, breast, cervix uteri, and prostate). The paper estimated current 5-year net survival for diagnosed cancers in each country and potential survival gains from increasing the availability of individual treatment and imaging modalities, and more comprehensive packages of scale-up. Global 5-year net survival for all 11 cancers (combined) is…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Calibration/Validation | Health Outcomes | Microsimulation | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Global -
ArticlePublication 2021Global Costs, Health Benefits, & Economic Benefits of Scaling Up Treatment and Imaging Modalities for Survival of 11 Cancers
This analysis estimated the costs and lifetime health and economic benefits of scaling up imaging …
This analysis estimated the costs and lifetime health and economic benefits of scaling up imaging and treatment modality packages on cancer survival in 200 countries/territories for patients diagnosed with one of 11 cancers (oesophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, anus, liver, pancreas, lung, breast, cervix uteri, and prostate). Using a microsimulation model of global cancer survival, the paper evaluated the costs and health and economic benefits of scaling up packages of treatment (chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, and targeted…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Health Outcomes | Microsimulation | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Global -
ArticlePublication 2020Testing for SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies
Antibody testing can determine previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus. Recently, the UK government has made …
Antibody testing can determine previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus. Recently, the UK government has made antibody testing available to anyone wanting it, even if there is no clinical indication. The purpose of this article is to provide guidance for when to consider antibody testing in individuals with and without symptoms suggestive of current or past SARS-CoV-2 infection. Key points made by the authors include: (1) antibody testing is likely to be most useful 2 weeks…
Test Performance | Technology Assessment | Probability/Bayes | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2018Resource Allocation in Decision Support Frameworks
Multi-criteria decision-making frameworks expand on typical decision analyses (cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit) by explicitly incorporating value …
Multi-criteria decision-making frameworks expand on typical decision analyses (cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit) by explicitly incorporating value tradeoffs from decision makers and summarizing the performance of investment options. This is done across all chosen dimensions of value, based on the weights provided by the decision makers, but comes at a cost. Currently there is no widely accepted method to suggest how to determine a budget constraint using multi-attribute models or to measure willingness to pay for incremental…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Global -
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 | Preferences/Values | Health Outcomes | Decision Analysis | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Global | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
ArticlePublication 2016Economic Evaluation: Bibliometric Analysis of Recent Literature
This bibliometric analysis focuses on recently published full economic evaluations of health interventions and reflects …
This bibliometric analysis focuses on recently published full economic evaluations of health interventions and reflects critically on the implications of the findings. The authors created a database drawing on 14 health, economic, and/or general literature databases for articles published between 1 January 2012 and 3 May 2014 and identified 2844 economic evaluations. They examined the distribution of publications between countries, regions, and health areas studied and compared the relative volume of research with disease burden.…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global