Resources Repository
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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…
Military/Defense | Health/Medicine | Decision Theory | Preferences/Values | Decision Analysis | Operations Research | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | North America -
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…
Military/Defense | Health/Medicine | Mathematical Models | State-Transition | Dynamic Transmission | Microsimulation | Dynamic Simulation | Infectious Diseases | Global Governance | Government/Law | Global -
ReviewPublication 2015Agent-Based Models and Microsimulation
This article reviews the principles and applications of agent-based models (ABMs). ABMs are computational models …
This article reviews the principles and applications of agent-based models (ABMs). ABMs are computational models used to simulate the actions and interactions of “agents” within a system. Usually, each agent has a set of rules for how he or she responds to the environment and to other agents. These models are used to gain insight into the emergent behavior of complex systems with many agents, in which the emergent behavior depends upon the micro-level behavior…
Military/Defense | Health/Medicine | Mathematical Models | State-Transition | Microsimulation | Dynamic Simulation | Energy/Engineering | Science/Technology -
ReviewPublication 1982Decision Analysis: An Overview
This article, written for the non-decision analyst, describes what decision analysis is, what it can …
This article, written for the non-decision analyst, describes what decision analysis is, what it can and cannot do, why one should care to do this, and how one does it. Keeney describes decision analysis as "a formalization of common sense for decision problems which are too complex for informal use of common sense." He provides a more technical definition also, describing decision analysis as "a philosophy, articulated by a set of logical axioms, and a methodology…
Military/Defense | Health/Medicine | Decision Theory | Preferences/Values | Decision Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Energy/Engineering | Government/Law | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2024GBD Study 2021 Estimates: Implications for Health Policy & Research
The article discusses findings from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study …
The article discusses findings from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021, published in The Lancet, which presents estimates of disease burden worldwide from 1990 to 2021. Despite an overall increase in global disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), age-standardized rates have decreased, particularly for communicable diseases like HIV/AIDS and diarrheal diseases. Post-COVID-19 impacts, including long COVID, are highlighted. GBD aids in tracking progress towards global health goals but its iterative nature…
Health/Medicine | Health Outcomes | Global -
ReviewPublication 2024Cost-Effectiveness of Newer Pharmacologic Treatments in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: Systematic Review of Cost-Effectiveness Studies for the American College of Physicians
This systematic review examines the cost-effectiveness of newer antidiabetes medications for type 2 diabetes in …
This systematic review examines the cost-effectiveness of newer antidiabetes medications for type 2 diabetes in the United States. The study screened nonindustry-funded cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) conducted from 2010 to 2023, focusing on estimating cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. Nine CEAs met the criteria, evaluating medications such as glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists (GLP1a), dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4i), and sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), among others. Comparisons were made against metformin, sulfonylureas, neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin, and…
Health/Medicine | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | North America -
ArticlePublication 2024Hepatitis C Elimination in Rwanda: Progress, Feasibility, Economic Evaluation
This study evaluates the impact of Rwanda's national program launched in 2018 to eliminate hepatitis …
This study evaluates the impact of Rwanda's national program launched in 2018 to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) and identifies strategies to achieve World Health Organization (WHO) elimination goals by 2030. Employing a microsimulation model spanning 2015 to 2050, the analysis assesses HCV epidemic trends, prevalence, mortality, and total care costs under various scenarios. Results show that between 2018 and 2022, over 7 million people were screened and 60,000 treated, projecting Rwanda's potential achievement of…
Health/Medicine | Microsimulation | Infectious Diseases | Chronic Disease/Risk | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2024Disparities in TB Incidence by Race & Ethnicity Among the U.S.-Born Population in the U.S., 2011 to 2021
This study aims to assess trends in racial/ethnic disparities in tuberculosis (TB) incidence among U.S.-born …
This study aims to assess trends in racial/ethnic disparities in tuberculosis (TB) incidence among U.S.-born individuals from 2011 to 2021. Using national TB registry data, time-series analysis was conducted, stratifying by race/ethnicity and adjusting for age, year, and state of residence. Results indicate persistent disparities, with incidence rate ratios as high as 14.2 for American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) females compared to non-Hispanic White individuals. Relative disparities were more pronounced for females, younger individuals,…
Health/Medicine | Infectious Diseases | Chronic Disease/Risk | North America -
ArticlePublication 2024Hypertension Care Cascades and Reducing Inequities in Cardiovascular Disease in LMIC
This study investigates the distributional implications of enhancing hypertension control in low- and middle-income countries …
This study investigates the distributional implications of enhancing hypertension control in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) across wealth quintiles. Using individual-level data from nationally representative surveys in 44 LMICs, the researchers simulated improvements in the hypertension care cascade and assessed the distributional benefits. They raised diagnosis and treatment levels for all wealth quintiles to match the best-performing country quintile and estimated the resulting change in 10-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Results indicate greater health benefits…
Health/Medicine | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk