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…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Global | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Policy/Regulation -
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…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Global | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2019Global Childhood Cancer Survival Estimates and Priority-Setting: A Simulation-Based Analysis
This modelling study provides estimates of global childhood cancer survival, accounting for the impact of …
This modelling study provides estimates of global childhood cancer survival, accounting for the impact of multiple factors that affect cancer outcomes in children. The authors developed a microsimulation model to simulate childhood cancer survival for 200 countries/territories, accounting for clinical and epidemiologic factors, including country-specific treatment variables, such as availability of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, and calibrated the model to empirical data from the CONCORD-2 and CONCORD-3 studies using an Approximate Bayesian Computation approach. The…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Microsimulation | Global | Health Outcomes | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Clinical Care -
ArticlePublication 2020Impact of Treatment and Imaging Modalities on 5-Year Net Survival of 11 Cancers in 200 Countries
This analysis describes the development of a microsimulation model of stage-specific cancer survival in 200 …
This analysis describes the development of a microsimulation model of stage-specific cancer survival in 200 countries/territories for 11 cancers (oesophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, anus, liver, pancreas, lung, breast, cervix uteri, and prostate). The paper estimated current 5-year net survival for diagnosed cancers in each country and potential survival gains from increasing the availability of individual treatment and imaging modalities, and more comprehensive packages of scale-up. Global 5-year net survival for all 11 cancers (combined) is…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Microsimulation | Global | Health Outcomes | Calibration/Validation | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems -
ArticlePublication 2020Role and Contribution of Treatment and Imaging Modalities in Global Cervical Cancer Management
Using a microsimulation model of global cancer survival, this analysis estimates the impact of scaling …
Using a microsimulation model of global cancer survival, this analysis estimates the impact of scaling up treatment and imaging modalities on cervical cancer survival in 200 countries/territories. The paper evaluates the potential survival effect of scaling up treatment (chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy), and imaging modalities (ultrasound, x-ray, CT, MRI, PET, and single photon emission CT [SPECT]) to the mean level of high-income countries, both individually and in combination. The model estimates that global…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Microsimulation | Global | Health Outcomes | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems -
ArticlePublication 2021Rational Policymaking during a Pandemic
Policymaking during a pandemic can be extremely challenging. As COVID-19 is a new disease and …
Policymaking during a pandemic can be extremely challenging. As COVID-19 is a new disease and its global impacts are unprecedented, decisions are taken in a highly uncertain, complex, and rapidly changing environment. In such a context, in which human lives and the economy are at stake, the authors argue that using ideas and constructs from modern decision theory, even informally, will make policymaking a more responsible and transparent process.
Priority Setting/Ethics | Decision Theory | Global | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2020Perceptions of COVID-19 around the World
This study evaluates public risk perception of COVID-19 around the world in ten countries across …
This study evaluates public risk perception of COVID-19 around the world in ten countries across Europe, America, and Asia. They found that significant predictors of risk perception included personal experience with the virus, individualistic and prosocial values, hearing about the virus from friends and family, trust in government, science, and medical professionals, personal knowledge of government strategy, and personal and collective efficacy. Although there was substantial variability across cultures, individualistic worldviews, personal experience, prosocial values,…
Preferences/Values | Decision Psychology | Global | Risk Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2020Valuing COVID-19 Mortality Risk
In this article, the author evaluates whether conventional estimates of the value per statistical life …
In this article, the author evaluates whether conventional estimates of the value per statistical life (VSL) in the United States (about $10 million) are appropriate for evaluating policies that affect risk of COVID-19. This estimate may be too large, because: (1) VSL estimates marginal values but COVID-19 risks can be non-marginal; (2) VSL is estimated for the average resident, but COVID-19 mortality is concentrated among the elderly; and (3) the pandemic has caused substantial losses…
Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Global | Infectious Diseases | Government/Law -
ArticlePublication 2021Narrative Truth About Scientific Misinformation
Science and storytelling mean different things when they speak of truth. This difference leads some …
Science and storytelling mean different things when they speak of truth. This difference leads some to blame storytelling for presenting a distorted view of science and contributing to misinformation. Yet others celebrate storytelling as a way to engage audiences and share accurate scientific information. This review disentangles the complexities of how storytelling intersects with scientific misinformation. Storytelling is the act of sharing a narrative, and science and narrative represent two distinct ways of constructing reality.…
Preferences/Values | Decision Psychology | Global | Social Determinants | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America