Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2020Interpreting COVID-19 Test Results: A Bayesian Approach
This article considers the following question with respect to interpreting the results of polymerase chain reaction …
This article considers the following question with respect to interpreting the results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays from nasal and pharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 to inform clinical decision making: "While a positive result in an acutely ill patient is straightforward, how should physicians interpret negative tests in patients with suspected COVID-19 infection?" Using an assumption of near-perfect specificity of PCR assays for COVID-19, the authors acknowledge the uncertainty of test sensitivity. They consider two clinical scenarios…
Probability/Bayes | Science/Technology | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | Global -
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…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Economics/Finance | 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…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Economics/Finance | Mathematical Models | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa | Asia & Pacific -
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 | Economics/Finance | Costing Methods | Mathematical Models | Dynamic Transmission | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa | Middle East & North Africa | Latin America & Caribbean | 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 | Economics/Finance | Costing Methods | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Operations Research | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa | Middle East & North Africa | Latin America & Caribbean | 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 | Economics/Finance | Costing Methods | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa | Middle East & North Africa | Latin America & Caribbean | Asia & Pacific -
ArticlePublication 2017Making Fair Choices on the Path to UHC: Applying Principles to Difficult Cases
Progress toward universal health coverage (UHC) requires making difficult trade-offs. The World Health Organization (WHO) …
Progress toward universal health coverage (UHC) requires making difficult trade-offs. The World Health Organization (WHO) Consultative Group on Equity and UHC has endorsed the principles for making such decisions. These principles include maximizing population health, priority for the worse off, and shielding people from health-related financial risks. But how should one apply these principles in particular cases, and how should one adjudicate between them when their demands conflict? This article by some members of the…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Economics/Finance | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Culture/Society | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Global -
ArticlePublication 2017Designing an Optimal HIV Programme for South Africa
This 2017 study compares the traditional and a novel method of comparing cost-effectiveness interventions in …
This 2017 study compares the traditional and a novel method of comparing cost-effectiveness interventions in the context of HIV in South Africa, using a modeling approach. The authors argue that the assumptions of a) independence of interventions, and b) linear scale-up effects do not hold because South Africa has a large domestically funded HIV program with highly saturated coverage levels. The authors therefore aim to better allocate resources for HIV interventions in South Africa when…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Economics/Finance | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Operations Research | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2016Country-Level Cost-Effectiveness Thresholds
This article estimates the cost-effectiveness thresholds (CETs) for health interventions in several low and middle-income …
This article estimates the cost-effectiveness thresholds (CETs) for health interventions in several low and middle-income countries (LMICs), based on opportunity costs. When there are constraints on a health care system’s budget or ability to increase expenditures, additional costs imposed by interventions have an “opportunity cost” in terms of the health foregone because other interventions cannot be provided. The authors argue that cost-effectiveness thresholds should reflect health opportunity cost and aim to calculate these in four…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Economics/Finance | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa | Middle East & North Africa | Latin America & Caribbean | Europe | Asia & Pacific