Resources Repository
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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 -
ReviewPublication 2023Handbook of Vaccine Health Economics
The open-access book, "Handbook of Applied Health Economics in Vaccines," looks at the complexities of …
The open-access book, "Handbook of Applied Health Economics in Vaccines," looks at the complexities of vaccine discovery, financing, and distribution. It highlights the inadequacy of standard economic models for vaccines. The book explores alternative principles challenging market-based approaches and equips readers with tools for assessing costs and benefits through practical exercises. It serves as a comprehensive resource for decision-making in vaccine development and distribution and emphasizes the importance of considering broader perspectives beyond economic efficiency.…
Decision Analysis | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Evidence Synthesis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Global | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional -
Working PaperPublication 2018Valuing Nonfatal Health Risk Reductions
This paper explores approaches for valuing nonfatal risk reductions associated with policy choices in low- …
This paper explores approaches for valuing nonfatal risk reductions associated with policy choices in low- and middle-income countries. The approach for valuation ideally would be based on estimates of individuals’ willingness to pay for changes in their own risks. However, high quality valuation research is not available for many nonfatal conditions even in high-income settings. Typically, two approaches are used either alone or in combination as rough proxies. The first involves applying an estimate of…
Decision Analysis | Preferences/Values | Priority Setting/Ethics | Health Outcomes | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Global | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
ReviewPublication 2017Patients' Preferences in Cancer Treatment: Review of Discrete Choice Experiments
This study aimed to systematically review discrete choice experiments (DCEs) about patients’ preferences for cancer …
This study aimed to systematically review discrete choice experiments (DCEs) about patients’ preferences for cancer treatment and assessed the relative importance of outcome, process and cost attributes. A systematic literature review was conducted using PubMed and EMBASE to identify all DCEs investigating patients’ preferences for cancer treatment between January 2010 and April 2016. Attributes were classified into outcome, process and cost attributes, and their relative importance was assessed. A total of 28 DCEs were identified.…
Decision Analysis | Preferences/Values | Health Outcomes | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | North America | Europe -
ReviewPublication 2016Remembering Howard Raiffa
Howard Raiffa (1924-2016) had a profound influence on all aspects of the decision sciences and on …
Howard Raiffa (1924-2016) had a profound influence on all aspects of the decision sciences and on the fields of systems analysis and operations research. He guided the introduction of the decision sciences into numerous fields such as business, medicine, public health, the environmental sciences, and law, and was instrumental in building world-recognized institutions such as the Kennedy School at Harvard and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis near Vienna, Austria. This article is a thoughtful tribute by…
Decision Analysis | Decision Theory | Preferences/Values | Operations Research | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Military/Defense | North America -
ReviewPublication 2016Choosing an Epidemiological Model Structure for Economic Evaluation
This review presents a taxonomy of epidemiological model structures and applies it to the economic …
This review presents a taxonomy of epidemiological model structures and applies it to the economic evaluation of public health interventions for non-communicable diseases. Growing pressures on health services and on social care have led to a greater need for prevention of chronic diseases. In order for decision makers to make informed judgements about how to best spend finite public health resources, they must be able to quantify the anticipated costs, benefits, and opportunity costs of…
Dynamic Simulation | Mathematical Models | State-Transition | Dynamic Transmission | Microsimulation | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Environmental Health | Health Systems | Climate/Environment | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine -
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 | Mathematical Models | State-Transition | Dynamic Transmission | Microsimulation | Infectious Diseases | Global Governance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Military/Defense | Global -
ReviewPublication 2015Decision-Analytic Modeling Studies of Multiple Myeloma
This review provides an overview of decision-analytic models evaluating different treatment strategies for multiple myeloma …
This review provides an overview of decision-analytic models evaluating different treatment strategies for multiple myeloma and is based on a systematic literature search to identify studies evaluating treatment strategies using mathematical decision-analytic models. Studies were included that assessed relevant clinical endpoints, and summarized methodological characteristics (e.g., modeling approaches, simulation techniques, health outcomes, perspectives). Eleven decision-analytic modeling studies met inclusion criteria. Five different modeling approaches were adopted: decision-tree modeling, Markov state-transition modeling, discrete event simulation, partitioned-survival analysis and…
Dynamic Simulation | Mathematical Models | State-Transition | Microsimulation | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health/Medicine -
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.
Decision Analysis | Preferences/Values | 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