Resources Repository
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ReviewPublication 2016Decision Support for Infectious Disease Control
This report from RAND reviews decision-support tools, including models and nonmodeling approaches, that are relevant to …
This report from RAND reviews decision-support tools, including models and nonmodeling approaches, that are relevant to infectious disease prevention, detection, and response and aligns these tools with real-world policy questions that the tools can help address. This overview is designed to help modelers and other technical experts understand the questions that policymakers will raise and the decisions they must make. The report also presents policymakers with the capabilities and limitations of the different tools that may…
Dynamic Simulation | Microsimulation | Mathematical Models | Dynamic Transmission | State-Transition | Government/Law | Global | Infectious Diseases | Global Governance | Health/Medicine | Military/Defense -
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 | Mathematical Models | Decision Psychology | Government/Law | Global | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Global Governance | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine -
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 | Decision Theory | Government/Law | Global | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2021Misinformation in and About Science
Humans learn about the world by collectively acquiring information, filtering it, and sharing what we …
Humans learn about the world by collectively acquiring information, filtering it, and sharing what we know. Misinformation undermines this process. The repercussions are extensive. Without reliable and accurate sources of information, we cannot hope to halt climate change, make reasoned democratic decisions, or control a global pandemic. Most analyses of misinformation focus on popular and social media, but the scientific enterprise faces a parallel set of problems – from hype and hyperbole to publication bias…
Preferences/Values | Decision Psychology | Government/Law | Global | Social Determinants | Culture/Society | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2019Misinformation Has Created a New World Disorder
This article, in brief, discusses (1) that many types of information disorder exist online, from …
This article, in brief, discusses (1) that many types of information disorder exist online, from fabricated videos to impersonated accounts to memes designed to manipulate genuine content, (2) automation and microtargeting tactics have made it easier for agents of disinformation to weaponize regular users of the social web to spread harmful messages, and (3) much research is needed to understand the effects of disinformation and build safeguards against it. This description was adapted from the…
Preferences/Values | Decision Psychology | Government/Law | Global | Climate/Environment | Culture/Society | Energy/Engineering | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America -
NewsPublication 2020Managing the COVID-19 Infodemic: Promoting Healthy Behaviors and Mitigating the Harm from Misinformation and Disinformation
The COVID-19 pandemic is the first in history in which technology and social media are …
The COVID-19 pandemic is the first in history in which technology and social media are being used on a massive scale to keep people safe, informed, productive, and connected. At the same time, the technology we rely on to keep connected and informed enables and amplifies an infodemic that continues to undermine the global response and jeopardizes measures to control the pandemic. This description was adapted from the joint statement.
Preferences/Values | Decision Psychology | Government/Law | Global | Infectious Diseases | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Global Governance | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2017Increasing Vaccination: Putting Psychological Science into Action
Vaccination is one of the great achievements of the 20th century, yet persistent public health …
Vaccination is one of the great achievements of the 20th century, yet persistent public health problems include inadequate, delayed, and unstable vaccination uptake. Psychology offers three general propositions for understanding and intervening to increase uptake where vaccines are available and affordable. The first proposition is that thoughts and feelings can motivate getting vaccinated. Hundreds of studies have shown that risk beliefs and anticipated regret about infectious disease correlate reliably with getting vaccinated; low confidence in…
Preferences/Values | Decision Psychology | Government/Law | Global | Infectious Diseases | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Global Governance | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2021COVID-19, Fake News, and Vaccines: Should Regulation Be Implemented?
This article analyzes issues concerning the establishment of compulsory vaccination against COVID-19, as well as …
This article analyzes issues concerning the establishment of compulsory vaccination against COVID-19, as well as the role of misinformation as a disincentive – especially when published by health professionals – and citizen acceptance of measures in this regard. Data from different surveys revealed a high degree of hesitation rather than outright opposition to vaccines. The most frequent complaint related to the COVID-19 vaccination was the fear of side effects. Within the Spanish and European legislative…
Preferences/Values | Decision Psychology | Government/Law | Global | Infectious Diseases | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Culture/Society | Education/Labor | 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 | Preferences/Values | Government/Law | Global | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis