Resources Repository
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ArticleWeb Portal 2017PLOS Collection: Economic Efficiency of HIV Services
In order to maximize the value for money for HIV services and increase efficiency without …
In order to maximize the value for money for HIV services and increase efficiency without sacrificing quality, robust and up-to-date data on costs, efficiency and its determinants are needed. This PLOS collection, Economic Efficiency of HIV Services, presents recent, high-quality evidence from low- and middle-income countries on costs and technical efficiency of HIV services and their determinants. These data contribute to the current discussion on optimizing resources for HIV services and can provide programmatic guidance for…
Operations Research | Costing Methods | Priority Setting/Ethics | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa | Middle East & North Africa | Latin America & Caribbean | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2007Decision Analysis: A Personal Account of How It Got Started and Evolved
In this chapter, Howard Raiffa discusses the evolution of decision analysis and his personal involvement …
In this chapter, Howard Raiffa discusses the evolution of decision analysis and his personal involvement in its development. He describes the early days of Operations Research (OR) in the late 1940s with its approach to complex, strategic decision making. After reading John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern’s Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (1947) and Abraham Wald’s two books (1947, 1950), he became involved in statistical decision theory. A few years later, after reading Leonard…
Probability/Bayes | Operations Research | Decision Theory | Preferences/Values | Decision Analysis | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Energy/Engineering | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2008Cost-Effectiveness of Rapid Point-of-Care Prenatal Syphilis Screening in Sub-Saharan Africa
This paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of using rapid point-of-care tests for prenatal syphilis screening among …
This paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of using rapid point-of-care tests for prenatal syphilis screening among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, a region with syphilis prevalence rates as high as 17%, and where traditional multi-test screening methods have been challenging to implement. Focusing on newly available rapid point-of-care screening tests, strategies differed by the initial test [rapid plasma reagin (RPR), immunochromographic strip (ICS)], need for confirmation with Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay, and number of visits required.…
Costing Methods | Test Performance | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
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.…
Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Evidence Synthesis | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Global | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional -
ArticlePublication 2023Out-of-Pocket Expenditures & Financial Risks Associated with Treatment of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in Ethiopia
This study investigates out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures and associated catastrophic health expenditures (CHEs) for vaccine-preventable diseases …
This study investigates out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures and associated catastrophic health expenditures (CHEs) for vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) in Ethiopia. Through a cross-sectional costing analysis, data on OOP direct medical and nonmedical expenditures were collected from 995 households in 54 health facilities nationwide. The study focuses on VPDs in children under 5 years for pneumonia, diarrhea, measles, and pertussis, and in children under 15 years for meningitis. Mean OOP expenditures per disease episode ranged from $5·6 to…
Costing Methods | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2022Comparative Health Systems Analysis of Differences in Catastrophic Health Expenditure
The growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries may have implications …
The growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries may have implications for health system performance in the area of financial risk protection, as measured by catastrophic health expenditure (CHE). This article compares non-communicable diseases catastrophic health expenditure to the CHE cases caused by communicable diseases across health systems to examine whether: (1) disease burden and catastrophic health expenditure are linked, (2) Catastrophic health expenditures secondary to NCDs disproportionately affect wealthier households and (3) whether the drivers…
Costing Methods | Evidence Synthesis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Global -
ArticlePublication 2020Broader Economic Value of School Feeding Programs
Globally, there are 370 million children receiving school meals every day. Coverage is least in …
Globally, there are 370 million children receiving school meals every day. Coverage is least in low-income countries, where the need is greatest and where program costs are viewed as high in comparison with the benefits to public health alone. This article explores the policy implications of including the returns of school feeding to other sectors in an economic analysis. The authors develop an economic evaluation methodology to estimate the costs and benefits of school feeding…
Costing Methods | Child/Nutrition | Global -
ArticlePublication 2022Hospital Closures amid COVID-19
The recent trend of hospital closures in the US has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, …
The recent trend of hospital closures in the US has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, as hospitals have experienced financial hardship from reduced patient volume and elective surgery cases, as well as the thin financial margins for treating patients with COVID-19. This trend of hospital closures is concerning for patients, healthcare providers, and policymakers. This current opinion piece describes the challenges caused by hospital closures and discusses what policymakers should know based on the existing…
Operations Research | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2020Data-Driven Management of Post-Transplant Medications
Organ-transplanted patients typically receive high amounts of immunosuppressive drugs as a mechanism to reduce their …
Organ-transplanted patients typically receive high amounts of immunosuppressive drugs as a mechanism to reduce their risk of organ rejection. However, because of the diabetogenic effect of these drugs, this practice exposes them to a greater risk of new-onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT), and hence, becoming insulin dependent. This study develops effective medication management strategies to address the common conundrum of balancing the risk of organ rejection versus that of NODAT. The article presents a robust…
Operations Research | Mathematical Models | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health/Medicine | North America