Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2022Equity Impact of Minimum Unit Pricing of Alcohol
South Africa experiences significant levels of alcohol-related harm. Recent research suggests minimum unit pricing (MUP) …
South Africa experiences significant levels of alcohol-related harm. Recent research suggests minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol would be an effective policy, but high levels of income inequality raise concerns about equity impacts. This paper quantifies the equity impact of MUP on household health and finances in rich and poor drinkers in South Africa. Authors estimate MUP would reduce consumption more among the poorest than the richest drinkers. A MUP policy in South Africa has…
Economics/Finance | Priority Setting/Ethics | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2022Economic Value of Clinical Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in clinical applications. Nevertheless, its flexibility and difficulties around …
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in clinical applications. Nevertheless, its flexibility and difficulties around collecting data on its clinical impacts make value assessment challenging. This article uses a value framework as the basis for assessing how AI may create value depending on how it is used. Authors also provide advice to health economists seeking to model AI’s clinical impacts. There are multiple ways that AI challenges traditional health technology assessment methodology. Authors highlight several…
Economics/Finance | Value of Information | Technology Assessment | Science/Technology | Global -
ArticlePublication 2022COVID-19 Response: The Need for Economic Evaluation
COVID-19-related policies are fraught with trade-offs. Many of these trade-offs involve dimensions that can be …
COVID-19-related policies are fraught with trade-offs. Many of these trade-offs involve dimensions that can be quantitatively weighed using economic evaluation, such as those between health and cost outcomes. Other types of dimensions, such as those involving equity or autonomy, can be harder to quantify but should be considered in a comprehensive health policy decision-making context nonetheless. The authors of this New England Journal of Medicine Perspectives article outline how methods of economic evaluation and decision…
Economics/Finance | Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Global | North America -
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…
Economics/Finance | Value of Information | State-Transition | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | North America | Europe -
ArticlePublication 2016Health and Economic Benefits of Public Financing of Epilepsy Treatment in India
This study uses extended cost-effectiveness analysis (ECEA) to evaluate the impact of three scenarios of …
This study uses extended cost-effectiveness analysis (ECEA) to evaluate the impact of three scenarios of publicly financed national epilepsy programs in India that provide (1) first line antiepilepsy drugs (AEDs), (2) first- and second-line AEDs, and (3) first- and second-line AEDs and surgery. Outcome measures include disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted, and cost per DALY averted. Economic benefit measures estimated include out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure averted and money-metric value of insurance. All three scenarios represent a…
Economics/Finance | Priority Setting/Ethics | Microsimulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health/Medicine | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2017Catastrophic Costs Potentially Averted by TB Control in India and South Africa
This study estimated the reduction in tuberculosis-related catastrophic costs with an aggressive expansion of tuberculosis …
This study estimated the reduction in tuberculosis-related catastrophic costs with an aggressive expansion of tuberculosis services in India and South Africa from 2016 to 2035, in line with the End TB Strategy. The authors investigated three intervention scenarios: improved treatment of drug-sensitive tuberculosis; improved treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis; and expansion of access to tuberculosis care through intensified case finding (South Africa only). In India and South Africa, improvements in treatment for drug-sensitive and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis…
Economics/Finance | Priority Setting/Ethics | Mathematical Models | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2017Changing the South African National ART Guidelines: The Role of Cost Modelling
This analysis was motivated by the South African Department of Health's request to assess the …
This analysis was motivated by the South African Department of Health's request to assess the cost implications of adopting sets of ART guidelines issued by the World Health Organization between 2010 and 2016.Using data from large South African ART clinics (n = 24,244 patients), projections of patients in need of ART, and cost data from bottom-up cost analyses, the authors constructed a population-level health-state transition model with 6-monthly transitions between health states depending on patients’ age,…
Economics/Finance | Costing Methods | State-Transition | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2017Cost-Effectiveness of Testing and Treatment for Latent TB
Testing for and treating latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is among the main strategies to achieve …
Testing for and treating latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is among the main strategies to achieve TB elimination in the United States. This analysis estimated health outcomes, costs, and cost-effectiveness of LTBI testing and treatment among non-US born residents with and without medical comorbidities (e.g., diabetes, HIV infection, and end-stage renal disease). A decision analytic tree and Markov cohort simulation model was used to compare the following strategies: no testing, tuberculin skin test (TST), interferon gamma release assay…
Economics/Finance | Test Performance | State-Transition | Microsimulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Global | North America -
ArticlePublication 2017Cost Determinants of Routine Infant Immunization Services
The EPIC study collected data on routine infant immunization costs from Benin, Ghana, Honduras, Moldova, …
The EPIC study collected data on routine infant immunization costs from Benin, Ghana, Honduras, Moldova, Uganda, Zambia, using a standardized approach. The authors estimated how costs were distributed across budget categories and programmatic activities, and investigated how the cost structure of immunization sites varied by country and site characteristics. For each country, the economic costs of infant immunization were estimated by administrative level, budget category, and programmatic activity from a program perspective. Regression models were…
Economics/Finance | Costing Methods | Infectious Diseases | Child/Nutrition | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa | Latin America & Caribbean