Resources Repository
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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 -
ArticlePublication 2020Weighing Evidence to Inform Clinical Decisions
The authors use a clinical example to simulate how treatment discussions can be complicated when new evidence is introduced …
The authors use a clinical example to simulate how treatment discussions can be complicated when new evidence is introduced that conflicts with existing guidelines. Even when evidence is consistent, the authors point out that current guidelines can have interpretations that don't agree with available evidence. They develop a step-wise algorithm to help guide individual clinical decisions even in the absence of general consensus related to appropriate testing and treatment.
Priority Setting/Ethics | Health/Medicine | Evidence Synthesis | Clinical Care -
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 2020Who Benefits Most from Extending Financial Protection for Cataract Surgery in Vietnam?: An ECEA
This study evaluated the potential impact, on health and financial protection, of eliminating medical and …
This study evaluated the potential impact, on health and financial protection, of eliminating medical and non-medical out-of-pocket costs associated with cataract surgery in Vietnam using extended cost-effectiveness analysis.
Priority Setting/Ethics | Health/Medicine | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2020Health Gains & Financial Risk Protection Afforded by Public Financing of Selected Malaria Interventions in Ethiopia: An ECEA
This article, published in the Malaria Journal, aims to estimate the expected health and financial …
This article, published in the Malaria Journal, aims to estimate the expected health and financial risk protection (FRP) benefits of universal public financing of key malaria interventions in Ethiopia. An extended cost-effectiveness analysis (ECEA) is used to estimate the potential health and FRP benefits of publicly financing a 10% increase in artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLIN), indoor residual spraying (IRS), and a hypothetical malaria vaccine. The results indicate that ACT, LLIN,…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Health/Medicine | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2018Applications of ECEA Methodology in DCP3
Extended cost-effectiveness analyses (ECEAs) build on cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) by assessing consequences in both the …
Extended cost-effectiveness analyses (ECEAs) build on cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) by assessing consequences in both the health and non-health domains. The ECEA approach proves novel in that it includes equity and non-health benefits (FRP) in the economic evaluation of health policies, which enables multiple criteria to factor in the decision-making process. More important, the ECEA approach enables the design of benefits packages, such as essential universal health care and the highest-priority package, based on the quantitative…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Health/Medicine | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Global Governance | Global -
ArticlePublication 2018Consequences of a Cigarette Price Increase in 13 Middle Income Countries
This study used extended cost-effectiveness analysis to examine the impact of a 50% increase in …
This study used extended cost-effectiveness analysis to examine the impact of a 50% increase in market prices of cigarettes on health, poverty, and financial protection for men in 13 middle income countries. A 50% increase in cigarette prices would lead to about 450 million years of life gained across the 13 countries from smoking cessation, with half of these in China. Across all countries, men in the bottom income group would gain 6.7 times more…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Health/Medicine | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Global -
ArticlePublication 2017Distributional Benefits of Tobacco Tax and Smoke-Free Workplaces in China
This study used the extended cost–effectiveness analysis (ECEA) to evaluate, across income quintiles of the …
This study used the extended cost–effectiveness analysis (ECEA) to evaluate, across income quintiles of the male population, the premature deaths averted, the change in tax revenues generated, and the financial risk protection procured, that would follow a 75% increase in cigarette prices through substantial increments in excise tax fully passed onto consumers, and a nationwide total implementation of workplace smoking bans. A 75% increase in cigarette prices would avert about 24 million premature deaths among…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Health/Medicine | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Asia & Pacific