Resources Repository
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ReviewPublication 2001Modeling for Health Care and Other Policy Decisions: Uses, Roles and Validity
This is a review article of the role of modeling approaches to guide decision making …
This is a review article of the role of modeling approaches to guide decision making in health care and other domains. The role of models to support recommendations on the cost-effective use of medical technologies and pharmaceuticals is controversial. At the heart of the controversy is the degree to which experimental or other empirical evidence should be required prior to model use. The authors argue that the controversy stems in part from a misconception that…
Mathematical Models | Health/Medicine | Priority Setting/Ethics | Evidence Synthesis | Technology Assessment | Environmental Health | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Climate/Environment | Economics/Finance | Energy/Engineering | Government/Law | North America -
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 -
ArticlePublication 2023Cost-Effectiveness of Pharmacist Prescribing for Managing Hypertension
This study estimates the cost-effectiveness of implementing a pharmacist-prescribing intervention to improve blood pressure control …
This study estimates the cost-effectiveness of implementing a pharmacist-prescribing intervention to improve blood pressure control in the US. A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted using a Markov model based on the pharmacist-prescribing intervention used in The Alberta Clinical Trial in Optimizing Hypertension (or RxACTION). Outcomes included cardiovascular (CV) events, end-stage kidney disease events, life years, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), lifetime costs, and lifetime incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Costs were based on reimbursement rates, published literature, national…
Mathematical Models | Health/Medicine | State-Transition | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Clinical Care | North America -
ReviewPublication 2021Review of Web-Based Tools for Value-of-Information Analysis
Value-of-information analysis (VOI) is an analytic approach used to inform research priorities, guide clinical trial …
Value-of-information analysis (VOI) is an analytic approach used to inform research priorities, guide clinical trial design, and provide information for decisions about reimbursement. The authors review existing web-based tools to facilitate VOI calculations. These include Sheffield Accelerated Value of Information (SAVI), the web interface to the BCEA (Bayesian Cost-Effectiveness Analysis) R package (BCEAweb), Rapid Assessment of Need for Evidence (RANE), and Value of Information for Cardiovascular Trials and Other Comparative Research (VICTOR).
Health/Medicine | Decision Theory | Priority Setting/Ethics | Value of Information | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Economics/Finance -
ArticlePublication 2023Performance of Rapid Antigen Tests to Detect Symptomatic and Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection
The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of rapid antigen tests (Ag-RDTs) …
The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of rapid antigen tests (Ag-RDTs) for detection of SARS-CoV-2 among symptomatic and asymptomatic participants. The general findings were that the performance of Ag-RDTs was optimized when asymptomatic participants tested 3 times at 48-hour intervals and when symptomatic participants tested 2 times separated by 48 hours. Participants completed Ag-RDTs and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for SARS-CoV-2 every 48 hours for 15 days. They…
Health/Medicine | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2020Variation in False-Negative Rate of Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction-Based SARS-CoV-2 Tests by Time Since Exposure
This study aimed to determine the false-negative rate of RT-PCR tests for SARS-CoV-2 infection based …
This study aimed to determine the false-negative rate of RT-PCR tests for SARS-CoV-2 infection based on the timeline of exposure and symptom onset. Drawing from data in seven studies involving 1,330 upper respiratory tract samples, a Bayesian model was used to estimate these rates. Findings showed that in the initial four days prior to typical symptom onset, the false-negative rate decreased from 100% on day 1 to 67% on day 4. By the day of…
Health/Medicine | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Science/Technology | North America -
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…
Health/Medicine | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Science/Technology | North America -
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…
Health/Medicine | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Science/Technology | North America -
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…
Health/Medicine | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Clinical Care | Science/Technology | North America