Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2000Discipline of Cost-Benefit Analysis
Cost-benefit analysis is a general discipline, based on the use of some foundational principles, which …
Cost-benefit analysis is a general discipline, based on the use of some foundational principles, which are not altogether controversial, but have nevertheless considered plausibility. Divisiveness increases as various additional requirements are imposed. There is a trade-off here between easier usability (through locked-up formulae) and more general acceptability (through allowing parametric variations). The paper, by Amartya Sen, examines and scrutinizes the merits and demerits of these additional requirements. The particular variant of cost-benefit approach that is…
Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Preferences/Values | Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Government/Law -
ArticlePublication 2010Alternative Strategies to Reduce Maternal Mortality in India: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
This article, published in PLoS Medicine, conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of strategies to improve pregnancy …
This article, published in PLoS Medicine, conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of strategies to improve pregnancy and childbirth safety in India. Country- and region-specific data were synthesized using a computer-based model that simulates the natural history of pregnancy and pregnancy-associated complications in individual women, and considers delivery location, attendant, and facility level. Model validation compared projected maternal indicators with empiric data. Strategies consisted of improving coverage of effective interventions that could be provided individually or packaged…
Economics/Finance | Evidence Synthesis | Mathematical Models | Microsimulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Health/Medicine | Global | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2021Racial and Ethnic Inequities in the Early Distribution of U.S. COVID-19 Testing Sites and Mortality
In 2020, U.S. COVID-19 testing sites were pivotal not just for diagnosis but also to …
In 2020, U.S. COVID-19 testing sites were pivotal not just for diagnosis but also to provide data that would contribute to understanding transmission. This research explored how these sites were distributed in relation to racial and ethnic demographics and its connection to observed disparities in COVID-19 outcomes. Data from mid-April to late May 2020 revealed that testing sites were not equally distributed among racial groups. Specifically, there was an overrepresentation of testing sites in areas…
Culture/Society | Health Outcomes | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2022Comparison of Home Antigen Testing With RT-PCR and Viral Culture During the Course of SARS-CoV-2 Infection
As the availability of at-home self-collected antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 increases, understanding their efficacy is …
As the availability of at-home self-collected antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 increases, understanding their efficacy is crucial. A study in San Diego and Denver between January and May 2021 assessed the reliability of these tests against standard RT-PCR tests and viral cultures. Of the 225 participants with confirmed infections, the antigen test sensitivity was found to be 50% during the infectious period, 64% against the same-day RT-PCR, and 84% against the same-day cultures. Sensitivity was highest…
Culture/Society | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2023Benefits and Costs of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
Written mid-pandemic, this article evaluates the direct costs and health benefits of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations …
Written mid-pandemic, this article evaluates the direct costs and health benefits of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for U.S. federal employees and healthcare and private sector workers. These mandates were controversial and some were halted by litigation. If they had been implemented as intended, the net benefits would depend on the course of the pandemic. If a more transmissible variant (such as Omicron) emerges, the net benefits may be large. If the pandemic instead fades, the benefits…
Economics/Finance | Mathematical Models | State-Transition | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2023Cost-Effectiveness of Novel TB Vaccines: A Modeling Study
A modeling study assessed future costs, cost-savings, and cost-effectiveness of introducing novel tuberculosis (TB) vaccines …
A modeling study assessed future costs, cost-savings, and cost-effectiveness of introducing novel tuberculosis (TB) vaccines in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) for a range of product characteristics and delivery strategies, compared to a ‘no-new-vaccine’ counterfactual. Vaccine scenarios considered two vaccine product profiles (one targeted at infants, one at adolescents/adults), both assumed to prevent progression to active TB. Vaccine introduction was estimated to require substantial near-term resources, offset by future cost-savings from averted TB burden.…
Economics/Finance | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | Global -
ArticlePublication 2022Health and Financial Risk Protection Outcomes in Economic Evaluations
Extended cost-effectiveness analysis was developed to evaluate health interventions in terms of level and distribution …
Extended cost-effectiveness analysis was developed to evaluate health interventions in terms of level and distribution of health gains and financial risk protection. This information is typically presented in a joint display format. This article develops and applies an algebraic money-metric formulation that incorporates all disaggregated outcomes and finds that ranking of health interventions is sensitive to the decision maker’s aversion to inequality across income groups and that financial risk protection gains are most important to…
Economics/Finance | Priority Setting/Ethics | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Health/Medicine | Global -
ArticlePublication 2022Conceptualizing Monetary Benchmarks for Health Investments toward Poverty Reduction
Public spending can improve population well-being, for example, by averting or reducing poverty. This article …
Public spending can improve population well-being, for example, by averting or reducing poverty. This article aims to conceptualize monetary benchmarks for health sector investments oriented towards poverty alleviation in low- and lower-middle-income countries. Priority setting in low- and lower-middle-income countries could be informed by health-sector PRBs (poverty reduction benchmarks), in addition to burden of disease and cost-effectiveness considerations. The computed PRBs, expressed in dollars per poverty case averted, can possibly be viewed in a manner…
Economics/Finance | Priority Setting/Ethics | Evidence Synthesis | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Global -
ArticlePublication 2022Equity Impact of Minimum Unit Pricing of Alcohol
South Africa experiences significant levels of alcohol-related harm. Recent research suggests minimum unit pricing (MUP) …
South Africa experiences significant levels of alcohol-related harm. Recent research suggests minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol would be an effective policy, but high levels of income inequality raise concerns about equity impacts. This paper quantifies the equity impact of MUP on household health and finances in rich and poor drinkers in South Africa. Authors estimate MUP would reduce consumption more among the poorest than the richest drinkers. A MUP policy in South Africa has…
Economics/Finance | Priority Setting/Ethics | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa