Resources Repository
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Working PaperPublication 2024Economic Evaluation Primer
Economic evaluation is a powerful tool, encouraging the systematic collection and assessment of the evidence …
Economic evaluation is a powerful tool, encouraging the systematic collection and assessment of the evidence needed to support sound policy decisions. In low- and middle-income countries, where resources are especially scarce and needs are very great, such decisions are exceptionally difficult. In these settings, economic evaluation can be particularly useful in determining how to best improve health and welfare. Typically, cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is used to prioritize interventions within the health care sector. This approach…
Policy/Regulation | Global | Priority Setting/Ethics | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis -
ArticlePublication 2021Racial and Ethnic Inequities in the Early Distribution of U.S. COVID-19 Testing Sites and Mortality
In 2020, U.S. COVID-19 testing sites were pivotal not just for diagnosis but also to …
In 2020, U.S. COVID-19 testing sites were pivotal not just for diagnosis but also to provide data that would contribute to understanding transmission. This research explored how these sites were distributed in relation to racial and ethnic demographics and its connection to observed disparities in COVID-19 outcomes. Data from mid-April to late May 2020 revealed that testing sites were not equally distributed among racial groups. Specifically, there was an overrepresentation of testing sites in areas…
North America | Policy/Regulation | Health Outcomes | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Social Determinants | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ReviewPublication 2023Handbook of Vaccine Health Economics
The open-access book, "Handbook of Applied Health Economics in Vaccines," looks at the complexities of …
The open-access book, "Handbook of Applied Health Economics in Vaccines," looks at the complexities of vaccine discovery, financing, and distribution. It highlights the inadequacy of standard economic models for vaccines. The book explores alternative principles challenging market-based approaches and equips readers with tools for assessing costs and benefits through practical exercises. It serves as a comprehensive resource for decision-making in vaccine development and distribution and emphasizes the importance of considering broader perspectives beyond economic efficiency.…
Policy/Regulation | Global | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Evidence Synthesis | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health/Medicine | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional -
ArticlePublication 2023Single-Arm Trial Design Estimates Efficacy
Studies to confirm the efficacy of a single HPV vaccine dose, of vaccine durability, and …
Studies to confirm the efficacy of a single HPV vaccine dose, of vaccine durability, and of vaccination modifications are needed, but randomized controlled trials are costly and face logistical and ethical challenges. In this study, the authors demonstrate proof-of-principle that a single-arm design yields valid estimates with similar precision to a randomized controlled trial.
Policy/Regulation | Global | Health Outcomes | Infectious Diseases | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Health/Medicine -
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…
North America | Policy/Regulation | Mathematical Models | State-Transition | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2022Economic Evaluations of Health System Strengthening Activities
Health system strengthening (HSS) activities should accompany disease-targeting interventions in low/middle-income countries (LMICs). Economic evaluations …
Health system strengthening (HSS) activities should accompany disease-targeting interventions in low/middle-income countries (LMICs). Economic evaluations provide information on how these types of investment might best be balanced but can be challenging. This paper conducted a systematic review to evaluate how researchers address these economic evaluation challenges. The authors searches produced 1978 studies, out of which they included 36. Most studies used data from prospective trials and calculated cost-effectiveness directly from these trial inputs, rather than…
Policy/Regulation | Global | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2021Toward Universal Health Coverage Post-COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, advancement toward universal health coverage will become more difficult …
During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, advancement toward universal health coverage will become more difficult for many countries, demonstrating that locally led priority setting is urgently needed to provide health services with appropriate financial protection to all. Resources are limited and no national constituency can provide an unlimited number of services to their whole population in a sustainable manner, so rationing and setting priorities for the selection of interventions to be included in a defined…
Policy/Regulation | Global | Priority Setting/Ethics -
ArticlePublication 2021COVID-19 Mortality and Self-Imposed Behavior Change/Government Regulations
Countries have adopted different approaches, at different times, to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. Cross-country …
Countries have adopted different approaches, at different times, to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. Cross-country comparison could indicate the relative efficacy of these approaches. This article assesses various nonpharmaceutical interventions, comparing the effects of voluntary behavior change and of changes enforced via official regulations, by examining their impacts on subsequent death rates. Voluntarily reduced mobility, occurring prior to government policies, decreases the percent change in deaths per day by 9.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.5–14.0).…
Policy/Regulation | Global | Health Outcomes | Infectious Diseases -
EditorialPublication 2019Quality Transparency in Health Care
The immediate promise of using public reporting to increase quality transparency is that it will …
The immediate promise of using public reporting to increase quality transparency is that it will enable consumers to choose the providers best suited to their needs and thereby lead to improved patient outcomes and welfare. Unfortunately, however, early empirical findings failed to detect such anticipated benefits from public reporting. For example, studies have indicated that the launch of the Hospital Compare website and other efforts aimed at increasing quality transparency have not resulted in improved…
North America | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine