Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2022Hospitalization Costs for COVID-19 in Ethiopia: Empirical Data and Analysis from Addis Ababa's Largest Dedicated Treatment Center
This study examines the comprehensive costs of hospitalization for COVID-19 disease at Ekka Kotebe COVID-19 …
This study examines the comprehensive costs of hospitalization for COVID-19 disease at Ekka Kotebe COVID-19 treatment center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the largest dedicated hospital for COVID-19 patient care in the country. Through retrospective collection and analysis of clinical and cost data from March to November 2020, including personnel time, drugs, medical supplies, and facility utilities, the study estimates the cost per treated COVID-19 episode stratified by disease severity. Over the study period, 2,543 COVID-19…
Costing Methods | Health/Medicine | Infectious Diseases | Sub-Saharan Africa -
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…
Probability/Bayes | Health/Medicine | Test Performance | Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2024Resource Pack: Ethiopian Health Decision Sciences
This resource pack provides a curated set of peer-reviewed articles that represent the growing evidence …
This resource pack provides a curated set of peer-reviewed articles that represent the growing evidence base for decision making and priority setting in Ethiopia - with an emphasis on improving health, reducing inequity, and preventing health-related impoverishment. Curated by Dr. Stéphane Verguet at the Center for Health Decision Science, most of the papers reflect work done as part of the Disease Control Priorities-Ethiopia (DCP-E) project. The pack provides scholarship that spans maternal-child health, vaccine-preventable disease, infectious…
Costing Methods | Health/Medicine | Priority Setting/Ethics | Health Outcomes | Mathematical Models | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Sub-Saharan Africa | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation -
EditorialPublication 2020Waiting for Certainty on COVID-19 Antibody Tests — At What Cost?
This perspective anticipates the availability of serologic antibody testing and considers its potential usefulness in mitigation …
This perspective anticipates the availability of serologic antibody testing and considers its potential usefulness in mitigation policy to reduce COVID-19 transmission. For example: Could we screen for serologic antibodies as a proxy for possible immunity and identify people who could return to the workplace with less severe mitigation measures? The authors acknowledge the uncertainties raised by many policy actors, including the WHO, such as, "Do antibodies confer immunity and, if so, for how long? How accurate is…
Probability/Bayes | Health/Medicine | Test Performance | Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Government/Law | Global | North America -
ArticlePublication 2020Bayes' Theorem, COVID-19, and Screening Tests
This article reviews the implications of increased testing for COVID-19 using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain …
This article reviews the implications of increased testing for COVID-19 using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) through the application of Bayes’ Theorem for three hypothetical, stylized case scenarios. The scenarios involve three patients with a low, moderate, and high pre-test probability of COVID-19 infection. The category of low probability would include "asymptomatic individuals in a presumed low prevalence environment" and might vary from 10 to 20%. The category of moderate probability would include "individuals…
Probability/Bayes | Health/Medicine | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care -
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 | Health/Medicine | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Science/Technology | Global -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2022Resource Pack: Decision Analysis & Childhood Obesity
This resource pack on childhood obesity was curated by the Center for Health Decision Science …
This resource pack on childhood obesity was curated by the Center for Health Decision Science to showcase existing cost-effectiveness analyses and motivate students, educators, and others to pursue new applications of decision science methods to the public health challenge of obesity. The resource pack was motivated by the NEJM article entitled Simulation of Growth Trajectories of Childhood Obesity into Adulthood published on November 30, 2017, with CHDS co-authors Zach Ward and Stephen Resch. Citation: Ward Z, Long M,…
Costing Methods | Health/Medicine | Health Outcomes | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Policy/Regulation | Clinical Care | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Food/Agriculture | North America -
ArticlePublication 2020Clinical Decision Making: Using a Diagnostic Test
This article is part of a 6-part series on clinical decision making. The authors use …
This article is part of a 6-part series on clinical decision making. The authors use two clinical examples to review the principles of interpreting diagnostic test results. They outline an approach that can be used to determine how to select and apply tests and their results to the practice of internal medicine. Topics covered in the two case studies include sensitivity and specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive value of tests, and how to estimate…
Probability/Bayes | Health/Medicine | Test Performance | Clinical Care -
ArticlePublication 2013Agent-Based Simulation Modelling Approach to ECEA of Health Interventions
This study develops a dynamic agent-based simulation model, the Disease Control Priorities Simulation (DCPSim) model, …
This study develops a dynamic agent-based simulation model, the Disease Control Priorities Simulation (DCPSim) model, to estimate the health and economic benefits of health interventions and policies. Authors examined two different policies that can scale up the availability of drugs for secondary prevention of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in India: a universal public provision (UPP) that provides a drug for free at public health facilities, and a universal public finance (UPF) that provides a drug…
Dynamic Simulation | Health/Medicine | Priority Setting/Ethics | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Asia & Pacific