Resources Repository
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Working PaperPublication 2015Benefit-Cost Analysis and the Cities
This paper provides a short introduction to the use of benefit-cost analysis to assess interventions …
This paper provides a short introduction to the use of benefit-cost analysis to assess interventions undertaken at the city or municipal level. It introduces the concepts that underlie the conduct of benefit-cost analysis, describes the major analytic components, and discusses how to tailor the analysis to the characteristics of the policy and the resources available. It concludes with a list of references for those interested in learning more.
Preferences/Values | Decision Analysis | Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | North America | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
ReportPublication 2015Improving Diagnosis in Health Care
Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an …
Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an explanation of a patient's health problem and informs subsequent health care decisions. The diagnostic process is a complex, collaborative activity that involves clinical reasoning and information gathering to determine a patient's health problem. This report, Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, explains that diagnostic errors-inaccurate or delayed diagnoses-persist throughout all settings of care and continue to harm an unacceptable number of patients.…
Probability/Bayes | Test Performance | Health Outcomes | Value of Information | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | North America -
ReportPublication 2015Modeling to Improve Policy Decisions in the Americas: Noncommunicable Diseases
In the Region of the Americas, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are a clear threat not only …
In the Region of the Americas, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are a clear threat not only to human health, but also to a country’s economic development and growth. The evidence on both of these counts is compelling. In 2012, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancers, chronic respiratory conditions including asthma, and other NCDs were the cause of 4.5 million deaths in the Americas. Of that total number, 1.5 million of them were premature, occurring among people aged 30-69…
Mathematical Models | Decision Analysis | Priority Setting/Ethics | Costing Methods | State-Transition | Microsimulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Mental Health | Health/Medicine | Latin America & Caribbean -
GuidelinesPublication 2014EPA Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses provide a framework for …
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses provide a framework for assessing the impacts of environmental regulations and policies that has been extensively peer-reviewed and is widely-applied both within and outside of the agency. The Guidelines discuss: (1) statutory and executive order requirements for conducting economic analyses; (2) identifying the need for policy action; (3) regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to pollution control; (4) baseline definition; (5) discounting future benefits and costs;…
Preferences/Values | Decision Analysis | Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Government/Law | North America | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
Lesson/ModulePublication, Teaching Resource 2014Scientific Decision-Making: Teacher's Guide
This guide provides high-school level activities and readings on how decision-making can affect our health, …
This guide provides high-school level activities and readings on how decision-making can affect our health, focusing on cardiovascular health. Exercises include: Decisions and Risks Smarter Choices Introduction to Personal Stories Heart: Basic Measurements Calculating Coronary Artery Disease Risk Team Diagnosis of Three Cases Comparative Effectiveness Decision-Making Tools These exercises explore the biology of the heart, a coronary disease model, risk factors for heart disease, and a wider range of activities around health decision-making.
Decision Theory | Decision Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Health/Medicine | High School | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Quantitative Literacy -
ReviewPublication 2013Valuing the Economic Benefits of Complex Interventions
This is a review of economic evaluations of complex health interventions. Complex interventions, involving interlinked …
This is a review of economic evaluations of complex health interventions. Complex interventions, involving interlinked packages of care, challenge the application of current methods of economic evaluation that focus on measuring only health gain. The authors find that complex interventions may be problematic on two levels. First, the complexity means the intervention may not fit into one of the current appraisal systems, and/or second, maximizing health is not the only objective. This paper discusses the…
Preferences/Values | Decision Analysis | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Europe -
GuidelinesPublication 2013Decision and Simulation Modeling in Systematic Reviews
The purpose of this review is to provide guidance for determining when incorporating a decision-analytic …
The purpose of this review is to provide guidance for determining when incorporating a decision-analytic model alongside a systemic review would be of added value for decision making purposes. The purpose of systematic reviews is to synthesize the current scientific literature on a particular topic in the form of evidence reports and technology assessments to assist public and private organizations in developing strategies that improve the quality of health care and decision making. However, there…
Mathematical Models | Decision Analysis | Evidence Synthesis | Infectious Diseases | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health/Medicine | North America -
ReviewPublication 2012Applying Decision Science to Managing National Forests
This publication is an example of the application of decision science to the management of …
This publication is an example of the application of decision science to the management of federal public forests, in particular to meet sustainability goals and multiple use regulations. Through three case studies, the authors describe four stages of a decision analytic approach: problem structuring (framing the problem and defining objectives and evaluation criteria), problem analysis (defining alternatives, evaluating likely consequences, identifying key uncertainties, and analyzing tradeoffs), decision point (identifying the preferred alternative), and implementation and monitoring…
Risk Analysis | Decision Analysis | Value of Information | Social Determinants | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Government/Law -
GuidelinesPublication 2012Conceptualizing a Model: A Report of the ISPOR-SMDM Modeling Task Force-2
This article provides a series of consensus-based best practices regarding the process of model conceptualization, …
This article provides a series of consensus-based best practices regarding the process of model conceptualization, specifically when models are used to inform medical decisions and health-related resource allocation. The authors divide the conceptualization process into two distinct components: the conceptualization of the problem, which converts knowledge of the health care process or decision into a representation of the problem, followed by the conceptualization of the model itself, which matches the attributes and characteristics of a…
Mathematical Models | Decision Analysis | Health/Medicine