Resources Repository
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ReviewPublication 2021Considerations for Diagnostic COVID-19 Tests
During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a rush by numerous diagnostic …
During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a rush by numerous diagnostic test manufacturers to create, validate, and implement testing methods. This review discusses the pivotal role of diagnostic tests during the pandemic's first global wave, highlighting the challenges in technology and implementation experienced early on. The study also offers insights for enhancing the use of diagnostics, especially syndromic ones, should there be future spikes or regional outbreaks of COVID-19. The overarching…
Health/Medicine | North America | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Science/Technology -
ReviewPublication 2022Rapid, Point-of-Care Antigen Tests for Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection
This study reviewed the diagnostic accuracy of rapid, point-of-care antigen tests for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection, …
This study reviewed the diagnostic accuracy of rapid, point-of-care antigen tests for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection, differentiating results between symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. Using data from 155 study cohorts, the study found that the sensitivity of antigen tests was generally higher for symptomatic individuals, especially during the first week after symptom onset, due to higher viral loads. For example, average sensitivity was higher in symptomatic (73.0%) compared to asymptomatic participants (54.7). Average sensitivity was higher in…
Health/Medicine | North America | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Science/Technology -
ReviewPublication 2022Significance of Advanced COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing in Pandemic Control Measures
Over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community has mounted significant …
Over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community has mounted significant efforts to combat the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 virus. Despite substantial progress in vaccines and treatments, leading to lower hospitalization and death rates, the virus has continued to evolve, primarily through mutations. From the onset, diagnostic tests have been crucial in identifying and controlling the virus spread. The scientific world has pioneered various diagnostic techniques, including nucleic acid, antigen, and antibody-based…
Health/Medicine | North America | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Clinical Care | Science/Technology -
ReviewPublication 2022Systematic Review of Economic Evaluations of COVID-19 Interventions: Non-Health Impacts and Distributional Issues
The authors conducted a systematic review of economic evaluations of COVID-19 interventions and assessed whether …
The authors conducted a systematic review of economic evaluations of COVID-19 interventions and assessed whether they incorporated non-health impacts and distributional concerns. Among the 70 articles included, more than half (56%) included at least one non-health impact, although only 21% incorporated non-economic consequences. Only 17% examined subgroups of interest. The median ICER for the entire sample was $67,000/quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) (interquartile range [IQR] $9000-$893,000/QALY). Interventions including a pharmaceutical component yielded a median ICER of $93,000/QALY (IQR…
Health/Medicine | North America | Evidence Synthesis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Social Determinants | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance -
ReviewPublication 2021European News Consumers' Perceptions of Misinformation
This study indicated that news users across ten different European countries are quite concerned about …
This study indicated that news users across ten different European countries are quite concerned about misinformation in their information environment. Respondents were most likely to associate politicians, corporations, and foreign actors with misinformation. They perceived misinformation to be most common for topics like immigration, the economy, and the environment. This offered support for the increasingly more relative and politicized status of facts in people’s credibility perceptions. Yet, differences across sources and issues were relatively modest,…
Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | Europe | Decision Psychology | Social Determinants | Culture/Society | Education/Labor | Science/Technology -
ReviewPublication 2020Public Health and Online Misinformation: Challenges and Recommendations
The internet has become a popular resource to learn about health and to investigate one's …
The internet has become a popular resource to learn about health and to investigate one's own health condition. However, given the large amount of inaccurate information online, people can easily become misinformed. Individuals have always obtained information from outside the formal health care system, so how has the internet changed people's engagement with health information? This review explores how individuals interact with health misinformation online, whether it be through search, user-generated content, or mobile apps.…
Health/Medicine | North America | Evidence Synthesis | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Culture/Society -
ReviewPublication 2015Major Concepts of Health Care Economics
This article provides a short simple guide to major economic concepts, such as supply, demand, monopoly, …
This article provides a short simple guide to major economic concepts, such as supply, demand, monopoly, monopsony, adverse selection, and moral hazard. Concepts are applied to central features of U.S. health care to illuminate some of the principal problems of health policy - high cost and the uninsured - and explain why solutions are difficult to obtain.
Health/Medicine | North America | Costing Methods | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis -
ReviewPublication 2015Medicare's Use of CEA for Prevention (But Not Treatment)
Medicare currently pays for 23 preventive services in its benefits package, the majority of which …
Medicare currently pays for 23 preventive services in its benefits package, the majority of which were added since 2005. In the past decade, the program has transformed from one essentially administering treatment claims, to one increasingly focused on health promotion and maintenance. What is largely unappreciated is the role cost-effectiveness analysis has played in the coverage of preventive services. This study reviews the role of cost-effectiveness analysis in Medicare coverage of preventive services and contrast it…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Health/Medicine | North America | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Government/Law -
ReviewPublication 2013Role of Health Economic Analyses in Vaccine Decision Making
Beginning in the 20th century with the consideration of the seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in …
Beginning in the 20th century with the consideration of the seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the US, cost effectiveness became a topic of discussion when a vaccine was being considered for universal use by the US Advisory Committee on Immunization practices (ACIP). In 2008, the ACIP began using formal criteria for the presentation of such data and their inclusion in ACIP discussions. More recently, the U.S. Institute of Medicine has recommended that health economic considerations play a…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Health/Medicine | North America | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Economics/Finance