Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2021Incorporating Equity in Infectious Disease Modeling: Measles
Deterministic compartmental models of infectious diseases like measles typically reflect biological heterogeneities in the risk …
Deterministic compartmental models of infectious diseases like measles typically reflect biological heterogeneities in the risk of infection and severity to characterize transmission dynamics. Given the known association of socioeconomic status and increased vulnerability to infection and mortality, it is also critical that such models further incorporate social heterogeneities. This article explores the influence of integrating income-associated differences in parameters of traditional dynamic transmission models. The authors developed a measles “SIR” model, in which the
Dynamic Transmission | Priority Setting/Ethics -
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 2021Employee Health Plans Powered by Analytics
This article describes a business model for the employee health plans of large firms to …
This article describes a business model for the employee health plans of large firms to bypass insurers and instead use direct contracts with hospitals which have been designated as centers of excellence. The authors propose methods of machine learning and data analytics to identify efficient and effective delivery systems, with the ultimate goal of improving health care quality.
Operations Research | Health Systems | North America -
ArticlePublication 2022Vaccinations versus Lockdowns to Prevent COVID-19 Mortality
This analysis estimated the costs associated with preventing Covid-19 deaths by vaccinations versus lockdowns. Publicly …
This analysis estimated the costs associated with preventing Covid-19 deaths by vaccinations versus lockdowns. Publicly available datasets from the Israeli Ministry of Health were used to model the parameters of the pandemic in Israel. The Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker was used for quantitative data on government policies. Data on the Israeli economy were taken from the Central Bureau of Statistics. The models demonstrate that the first lockdown prevented 1022 COVID-19 deaths at the cost…
State-Transition | Decision Theory | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Decision Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Middle East & North Africa -
ArticlePublication 2022Spatial-Mechanistic Model to Estimate Sub-National Tuberculosis Burden in Brazilian Municipalities
Reliable subnational estimates of TB incidence are needed to focus disease control resources in areas …
Reliable subnational estimates of TB incidence are needed to focus disease control resources in areas of highest need. This study developed an approach for generating small area estimates of TB incidence, and the fraction of individuals missed by routine case detection, based on available notification and mortality data. The approach is demonstrated by estimating TB outcomes for 5568 municipalities in Brazil, revealing substantial subnational differences in disease burden and other metrics useful for designing high-impact…
Mathematical Models | Health Outcomes | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | Latin America & Caribbean -
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 | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | Global | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2022Emerging Therapies for COVID-19: The Value of Information From More Clinical Trials
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated time-sensitive policy and implementation decisions regarding new therapies in the face …
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated time-sensitive policy and implementation decisions regarding new therapies in the face of uncertainty. This study aimed to quantify consequences of approving therapies or pursuing further research. The authors used a cohort state-transition model for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 to estimate quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and costs associated with multiple drug regimens and usual care. For each they assessed immediate approval, use only in research, emergency use authorization or reject. They conducted cost-effectiveness…
State-Transition | Value of Information | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | North America | Europe -
ArticlePublication 2022Cost-Effectiveness of Masked Hypertension Screening and Treatment
The study assessed the health and economic outcomes of screening and treating masked hypertension in …
The study assessed the health and economic outcomes of screening and treating masked hypertension in U.S. adults using the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Policy Model, a microsimulation model. The model simulated 100,000 adults suspected of having masked hypertension (office blood pressure [BP] of 120–129/<80 mm Hg, not on antihypertensive medications, and without a history of CVD). Interventions included: usual care alone, usual care with ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM), and usual care with home BP monitoring (HBPM).…
Microsimulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2022WHO ACTION-I Trial in Low Resource Countries
This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of dexamethasone administration in dexamethasone in pregnant women at risk …
This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of dexamethasone administration in dexamethasone in pregnant women at risk of early preterm birth using data from a multicentre, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Primary cost data were collected in 28 hospitals across the 5 countries. A decision tree model was used to compare dexamethasone treatment to no intervention from a health-care sector perspective. Administration of dexamethasone averted 38 neonatal deaths per 1000 woman–baby units…
Mathematical Models | Health Outcomes | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Child/Nutrition | Clinical Care | Global | Sub-Saharan Africa | Asia & Pacific