Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2023Benefits and Costs of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
Written mid-pandemic, this article evaluates the direct costs and health benefits of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations …
Written mid-pandemic, this article evaluates the direct costs and health benefits of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for U.S. federal employees and healthcare and private sector workers. These mandates were controversial and some were halted by litigation. If they had been implemented as intended, the net benefits would depend on the course of the pandemic. If a more transmissible variant (such as Omicron) emerges, the net benefits may be large. If the pandemic instead fades, the benefits…
Mathematical Models | North America | State-Transition | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine -
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…
Mathematical Models | North America | Operations Research | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2022Early HPV Natural History Transitions
Microsimulation models used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of novel cervical cancer screening technologies rely on …
Microsimulation models used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of novel cervical cancer screening technologies rely on accurate transition risks for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, persistence (or absence of HPV clearance), progression to precancerous lesions, and invasion. To inform the refinement of such models, we compared the early natural history of HPV types using prospective data from immunocompetent women in the Guanacaste Natural History Study, the ASCUS-LSIL Triage Study, and the Costa Rica HPV Vaccine Trial. We…
Mathematical Models | North America | Microsimulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Latin America & Caribbean -
ArticlePublication 2019Estimation of Eating Disorders Prevalence by Age and Associations with Mortality in a Simulated Nationally Representative U.S. Cohort
This analysis models the individual-level disease dynamics of eating disorders (ED) in the United States, …
This analysis models the individual-level disease dynamics of eating disorders (ED) in the United States, and estimates the association of increased treatment coverage with ED-related mortality. Using an individual-level Markov state transition model calibrated to nationally-representative US survey data from 2007 and 2011, the authors simulated a virtual cohort of 100,000 individuals (50% male) from birth to age 40 years and modelled 4 ED diagnoses: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and other specified…
Health Outcomes | North America | Microsimulation | Calibration/Validation | Child/Nutrition | Mental Health -
ArticlePublication 2022Excess Mortality and Elevated Body Weight in the U.S.
This analysis estimates excess mortality associated with elevated body weight in the United States by …
This analysis estimates excess mortality associated with elevated body weight in the United States by state and demographic subgroup. The authors developed a nationally-representative microsimulation (individual-level) model of US adults between 1999 and 2016, based on risk factor data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and body-mass index (BMI) mortality hazard ratios from a global pooling dataset. The model was calibrated to empirical all-cause mortality rates from CDC WONDER by state and subgroup, and…
Health Outcomes | North America | Microsimulation | Calibration/Validation | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants -
ArticlePublication 2021BMI-Related Healthcare Costs in the U.S.
This paper estimates continuous body mass index (BMI) related health care expenditures using data from …
This paper estimates continuous body mass index (BMI) related health care expenditures using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) 2011-2016, adjusting BMI for self-report bias and controlling for potential confounding between BMI and medical expenditures. Costs are reported in $US 2019. The analysis found a J-shaped curve of medical expenditures by BMI, with higher costs for females and the lowest expenditures occurring at a BMI of 20.5 for adult females and 23.5 for…
Costing Methods | North America | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk -
ArticlePublication 2021Cost-Effectiveness of Hypertension Treatment by Pharmacists in Black Barbershops
The Los Angeles Barbershop Blood Pressure Study (LABBPS) examined the effectiveness and cost of a …
The Los Angeles Barbershop Blood Pressure Study (LABBPS) examined the effectiveness and cost of a one-year pharmacist-led hypertension care intervention in Black-owned barbershops in Los Angeles County, focused on non-Hispanic Black men with uncontrolled hypertension. Using a discrete event simulation, the researchers projected the 10-year health outcomes and health care costs associated with the intervention compared to a control group. The costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were calculated from a health care sector perspective, with…
Mathematical Models | North America | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2021Individual and Social Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake
This article examined the individual, communication and social determinants associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake using …
This article examined the individual, communication and social determinants associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake using national survey data collected before vaccines were available in the U.S. Of note, individuals under the federal poverty level and racial and ethnic minorities were oversampled. Outcomes included the likelihood of vaccinating self and dependents (e.g., children). Independent variables included perceptions of risk, exposure to different media for COVID-19 news, political party identification, confidence in scientists and social determinants of…
Health Outcomes | North America | Evidence Synthesis | Infectious Diseases | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Clinical Care | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2021COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: The Five C's to Tackle Behavioral and Sociodemographic Factors
Reversing and mitigating the ongoing damage associated with the COVID-19 pandemic requires that 60-70% of …
Reversing and mitigating the ongoing damage associated with the COVID-19 pandemic requires that 60-70% of the world’s population needs to be vaccinated. This article acknowledges that hesitancy is one of the most substantial hurdles to vaccination uptake at levels that would achieve herd immunity. Authors define hesitancy as “a delay in acceptance or refusal despite availability.” Five factors are proposed to tackle vaccine hesitancy, referred to as the five “C’s”: Confidence (importance, safety and efficacy…
Health Outcomes | North America | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Evidence Synthesis | Infectious Diseases | Social Determinants | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology