Resources Repository
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ToolInteractive, Teaching Resource 2020RAND Critical Care Surge Response Tool
This Excel-based model allows decisionmakers at all levels (i.e., hospitals, health care systems, states, regions) …
This Excel-based model allows decisionmakers at all levels (i.e., hospitals, health care systems, states, regions) to examine the current critical care capacity in the nation’s hospitals and rapidly explore strategies for increasing capacity to provide care for the sickest COVID-19 patients. The tool was developed by the RAND Corporation in response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Model input parameters to the Excel spreadsheet include baseline number of beds, critical care doctors and nurses, respiratory therapists,…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Operations Research | North America | Mathematical Models | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | Professional | Policy Translation -
ReviewPublication 2021Considerations for Diagnostic COVID-19 Tests
During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a rush by numerous diagnostic …
During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a rush by numerous diagnostic test manufacturers to create, validate, and implement testing methods. This review discusses the pivotal role of diagnostic tests during the pandemic's first global wave, highlighting the challenges in technology and implementation experienced early on. The study also offers insights for enhancing the use of diagnostics, especially syndromic ones, should there be future spikes or regional outbreaks of COVID-19. The overarching…
Test Performance | North America | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ReviewPublication 2022Rapid, Point-of-Care Antigen Tests for Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection
This study reviewed the diagnostic accuracy of rapid, point-of-care antigen tests for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection, …
This study reviewed the diagnostic accuracy of rapid, point-of-care antigen tests for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection, differentiating results between symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. Using data from 155 study cohorts, the study found that the sensitivity of antigen tests was generally higher for symptomatic individuals, especially during the first week after symptom onset, due to higher viral loads. For example, average sensitivity was higher in symptomatic (73.0%) compared to asymptomatic participants (54.7). Average sensitivity was higher in…
Test Performance | North America | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ToolWeb Portal 2023CDC Resource Portal: Diagnostic Tests for SARS-CoV-2
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides a broad range of resources about …
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides a broad range of resources about diagnostic tests for SARS-CoV-2 aimed at the general public, health professionals and laboratory personnel. The overviews and guidelines for health professionals provide comprehensive information about the current available diagnostics, their strengths and limitations, their performance characteristics and guidelines for their use and interpretation. Selected topics included are provided below. Overview of Testing for SARS-CoV-2, the Virus That Causes COVID-19. Interim…
Test Performance | North America | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ReviewPublication 2022Significance of Advanced COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing in Pandemic Control Measures
Over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community has mounted significant …
Over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community has mounted significant efforts to combat the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 virus. Despite substantial progress in vaccines and treatments, leading to lower hospitalization and death rates, the virus has continued to evolve, primarily through mutations. From the onset, diagnostic tests have been crucial in identifying and controlling the virus spread. The scientific world has pioneered various diagnostic techniques, including nucleic acid, antigen, and antibody-based…
Test Performance | North America | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ReportPublication 2017Communicating Science Effectively: A Research Agenda
Science and technology are embedded in virtually every aspect of modern life. As a result, …
Science and technology are embedded in virtually every aspect of modern life. As a result, people face an increasing need to integrate information from science with their personal values and other considerations as they make important life decisions about medical care, the safety of foods, what to do about climate change, and many other issues. Communicating science effectively, however, is a complex task and an acquired skill. Moreover, the approaches to communicating science that will…
Priority Setting/Ethics | North America | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Social Determinants | Climate/Environment | Culture/Society | Energy/Engineering | Education/Labor | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
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…
Operations Research | North America | Decision Theory | Preferences/Values | Decision Analysis | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Military/Defense -
ReviewWeb Portal 2016Use of Economics in Informing U.S. Public Health Policy
The goal of this American Journal of Preventive Medicine supplement on “The Use of Economics …
The goal of this American Journal of Preventive Medicine supplement on “The Use of Economics in Informing U.S. Public Health Policy” is to influence policy researchers to identify and undertake economic research that generates the key evidence needed to inform policy. In public health, economic evaluation, primarily cost and cost-effectiveness analysis, has been widely used to demonstrate the economic burden of health-related conditions and the value of proposed programs and policies. However, despite the wealth…
Priority Setting/Ethics | North America | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine -
ReviewPublication 2016Strengthening Cost-Effectiveness Analysis for Public Health Policy
Many important opportunities to improve health lie outside the health sector and involve improving the …
Many important opportunities to improve health lie outside the health sector and involve improving the conditions in which we live and work: safe design and maintenance of roads, bridges, train tracks, and airports; control of environmental pollutants; occupational safety; healthy buildings; a safe and healthy food supply; safe manufacture of consumer products; a healthy social environment; and others. Faced with the overwhelming array of possibilities, U.S. decision makers need help identifying those that can contribute the…
Priority Setting/Ethics | North America | Preferences/Values | Costing Methods | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Social Determinants | Environmental Health | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Economics/Finance | Food/Agriculture | Health/Medicine