Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2016Departures from Cost-Effectiveness Recommendations: Health System Constraints
Cost-effectiveness analysis assumes a single constraint, in the form of the budget constraint, whereas in reality …
Cost-effectiveness analysis assumes a single constraint, in the form of the budget constraint, whereas in reality decision makers may be faced with numerous other constraints. The objective of this article is to develop a typology of constraints that may act as barriers to implementation of cost-effectiveness recommendations. Six categories of constraints are considered: the design of the health system; costs of implementing change; system interactions between interventions; uncertainty in estimates of costs and benefits; weak governance;…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Health/Medicine | Education/Labor | Latin America & Caribbean | Sub-Saharan Africa | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Middle East & North Africa | Asia & Pacific -
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…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Health/Medicine | Latin America & Caribbean | Sub-Saharan Africa | Costing Methods | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Operations Research | Infectious Diseases | Economics/Finance | Middle East & North Africa | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2022Re-Evaluating the Health Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Tuberculosis Prevention for Modern ART Cohorts
TB preventive therapy (TPT) is widely accepted to be cost-effective for reducing TB incidence in …
TB preventive therapy (TPT) is widely accepted to be cost-effective for reducing TB incidence in HIV-infected individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, as individuals initiate ART earlier in the course of disease, TB incidence is lower, and it is unclear how ART cost-effectiveness has changed. This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of TPT in contemporary ART cohorts. The authors developed a microsimulation model of TB and HIV and parameterised it using data from a large HIV…
Microsimulation | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa | Global | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases -
ArticlePublication 2021COVID-19, Fake News, and Vaccines: Should Regulation Be Implemented?
This article analyzes issues concerning the establishment of compulsory vaccination against COVID-19, as well as …
This article analyzes issues concerning the establishment of compulsory vaccination against COVID-19, as well as the role of misinformation as a disincentive – especially when published by health professionals – and citizen acceptance of measures in this regard. Data from different surveys revealed a high degree of hesitation rather than outright opposition to vaccines. The most frequent complaint related to the COVID-19 vaccination was the fear of side effects. Within the Spanish and European legislative…
Preferences/Values | Decision Psychology | Health/Medicine | Education/Labor | Global | Infectious Diseases | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Culture/Society | Government/Law | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2016Mexico's SSB Tax Policy Impact on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease: Modeling Study
In 2014, Mexico instituted a nationwide tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in order to reduce …
In 2014, Mexico instituted a nationwide tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in order to reduce the high level of SSB consumption, a preventable cause of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this analyses, a computer simulation model of CVD was used to project potential long-range health and economic impacts of SSB taxation in Mexico. Two main scenarios were modeled: (1) a 10% reduction in SSB consumption (corresponding to the reduction observed after tax implementation) and…
Microsimulation | Food/Agriculture | Health/Medicine | Latin America & Caribbean | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Government/Law -
Working PaperPublication 2018Valuing Mortality Risk Reductions in Global Benefit-Cost Analysis
Increasing life expectancy is a major goal of many policies implemented around the world. As …
Increasing life expectancy is a major goal of many policies implemented around the world. As a result, the value of reducing mortality risk has been extensively studied and several organizations have developed recommendations for estimating these values in benefit-cost analysis. However, both the recommendations and the underlying research primarily address high-income settings, raising questions about the extent to which the results are applicable in low- and middle-income countries. The recommendations are also diverse, reflecting differing…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | Global | Health Outcomes | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance -
Working PaperPublication 2018Valuing Nonfatal Health Risk Reductions
This paper explores approaches for valuing nonfatal risk reductions associated with policy choices in low- …
This paper explores approaches for valuing nonfatal risk reductions associated with policy choices in low- and middle-income countries. The approach for valuation ideally would be based on estimates of individuals’ willingness to pay for changes in their own risks. However, high quality valuation research is not available for many nonfatal conditions even in high-income settings. Typically, two approaches are used either alone or in combination as rough proxies. The first involves applying an estimate of…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | Global | Health Outcomes | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
ArticleWeb Portal 2017PLoS Collection: Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Infections
Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than one million new sexually transmitted …
Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than one million new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) occur each day, incurring a very substantial burden of morbidity, mortality and additional infections. The pathogens responsible include bacteria, parasites and viruses, and intensive research is needed to address the substantial barriers to diagnosis and treatment of STIs, and the behavioral challenges of prevention. This PLOS collection, published in collaboration with WHO, focuses on global policy and systems…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Health/Medicine | Latin America & Caribbean | Sub-Saharan Africa | Costing Methods | Mathematical Models | Dynamic Transmission | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Middle East & North Africa | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2017Getting it Right When Budgets are Tight: Prioritizing Responses to HIV Epidemics
Prioritizing investments across health interventions is complicated by the nonlinear relationship between intervention coverage and …
Prioritizing investments across health interventions is complicated by the nonlinear relationship between intervention coverage and epidemiological outcomes. It can be difficult for countries to know which interventions to prioritize for greatest epidemiological impact, particularly when budgets are uncertain.The authors examined four case studies of HIV epidemics in diverse settings, each with different characteristics. These case studies were based on public data available for Belarus, Peru, Togo, and Myanmar. The Optima HIV model and software package…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Health/Medicine | Latin America & Caribbean | Sub-Saharan Africa | Costing Methods | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Middle East & North Africa | Asia & Pacific