Resources Repository
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ReviewPublication 2016Using Economic Evidence to Set Healthcare Priorities in LMIC
Policy makers in low-income and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasingly looking to develop ‘evidence-based’ frameworks …
Policy makers in low-income and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasingly looking to develop ‘evidence-based’ frameworks for identifying priority health interventions. This paper synthesizes and appraises the literature on methodological frameworks – which incorporate economic evaluation evidence – for the purpose of setting healthcare priorities in LMICs. A systematic search of Embase, MEDLINE, Econlit and PubMed identified 3968 articles with a further 21 articles identified through manual searching. A total of 36 papers were eligible for inclusion.…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Government/Law | Latin America & Caribbean | Middle East & North Africa | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Technology Assessment | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2016Departures from Cost-Effectiveness Recommendations: Health System Constraints
Cost-effectiveness analysis assumes a single constraint, in the form of the budget constraint, whereas in reality …
Cost-effectiveness analysis assumes a single constraint, in the form of the budget constraint, whereas in reality decision makers may be faced with numerous other constraints. The objective of this article is to develop a typology of constraints that may act as barriers to implementation of cost-effectiveness recommendations. Six categories of constraints are considered: the design of the health system; costs of implementing change; system interactions between interventions; uncertainty in estimates of costs and benefits; weak governance;…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Government/Law | Latin America & Caribbean | Middle East & North Africa | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Education/Labor | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa | Asia & Pacific -
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 | Government/Law | Global | Decision Theory | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2024Resource Pack: Introduction to Benefit-Cost Analysis
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the theory and …
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the theory and practice of benefit-cost analysis. It is targeted towards advanced students as well as practitioners and those interested in teaching benefit-cost analysis. Benefit-cost analysis (also referred to as cost-benefit analysis) is a well-established and widely-used form of economic evaluation. It is designed to inform policy and other decisions by providing evidence on the consequences of alternative interventions. In benefit-cost analysis, all…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Government/Law | Global | Preferences/Values | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2018Resource Pack: Economic Evaluation Guidelines
This resource pack includes guidelines for health economic evaluation - methods designed to identify, measure …
This resource pack includes guidelines for health economic evaluation - methods designed to identify, measure and value the incremental resources used, relative to benefits gained, of alternative interventions or policies - with the goal of improving resource allocation decisions by addressing efficiency in healthcare. The selected examples focus predominantly on the conduct of cost-effectiveness analysis. Over the past three decades, cost-effectiveness analysis has gained increasing attention from decision makers in both resource-rich and resource-poor countries.…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Government/Law | Global | Preferences/Values | Costing Methods | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation -
BookPublication 2017What's In, What's Out: Designing Benefits for Universal Health Coverage
Many low- and middle-income countries now aspire to universal health coverage, where governments ensure that …
Many low- and middle-income countries now aspire to universal health coverage, where governments ensure that all people have access to the quality health services they need without risk of impoverishment. But for universal health coverage to become reality, the health services offered must be consistent with the funds available-and this implies tough everyday choices for policymakers. This publication argues that the creation of an explicit health benefits plan-a defined list of services that are and are…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Government/Law | Global | Health Outcomes | Evidence Synthesis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Technology Assessment | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2017When Cost-Effective Interventions Are Unaffordable
Many health interventions deemed cost-effective are not affordable. Despite the importance of affordability to policymakers, …
Many health interventions deemed cost-effective are not affordable. Despite the importance of affordability to policymakers, little of the cost-effectiveness literature in global health addresses this issue. Budget impact analysis (BIA) describes an intervention's short-term costs and savings from the payer's perspective. This paper assesses the current use of budget impact analysis (BIA) and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) in health economic assessments conducted for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The authors recommend steps researchers and policymakers can…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Government/Law | Global | Costing Methods | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
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 | Government/Law | Global | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2017Policy Makers, the International Community and the Population: Case Study on HIV/AIDS
A four-period game is developed between a policy maker, the international community, and the population. …
A four-period game is developed between a policy maker, the international community, and the population. This research supplements, through implementing strategic interaction, earlier research analyzing "one player at a time." The first two players distribute funds between preventing and treating diseases. The population reacts by degree of risky behavior which may cause no disease, disease contraction, recovery, sickness/death. More funds to prevention implies less disease contraction but higher death rate given disease contraction. The cost…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Government/Law | Global | Decision Psychology | Mathematical Models | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Global Governance | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine