Resources Repository
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ReviewPublication 2016Remembering Howard Raiffa
Howard Raiffa (1924-2016) had a profound influence on all aspects of the decision sciences and on …
Howard Raiffa (1924-2016) had a profound influence on all aspects of the decision sciences and on the fields of systems analysis and operations research. He guided the introduction of the decision sciences into numerous fields such as business, medicine, public health, the environmental sciences, and law, and was instrumental in building world-recognized institutions such as the Kennedy School at Harvard and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis near Vienna, Austria. This article is a thoughtful tribute by…
Decision Analysis | Military/Defense | Business/Industry | Decision Theory | Preferences/Values | Operations Research | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | North America -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016Educational Module: Models and Practice
This module is an introduction to models and to their role in regulatory decision-making, and …
This module is an introduction to models and to their role in regulatory decision-making, and is intended for non-scientists from a variety of different backgrounds including law, journalism, public policy, and business. The module covers three main themes: (1) Core lessons on using models for policy making; (2) Key questions on the art and science of modeling including how models differ from other scientific techniques; and (3) Key ideas on using models in policy-making including how…
Mathematical Models | Government/Law | Business/Industry | Priority Setting/Ethics | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Conceptual Mapping | Decision Making/Leadership -
ReviewPublication 2015Agent-Based Models and Microsimulation
This article reviews the principles and applications of agent-based models (ABMs). ABMs are computational models …
This article reviews the principles and applications of agent-based models (ABMs). ABMs are computational models used to simulate the actions and interactions of “agents” within a system. Usually, each agent has a set of rules for how he or she responds to the environment and to other agents. These models are used to gain insight into the emergent behavior of complex systems with many agents, in which the emergent behavior depends upon the micro-level behavior…
Dynamic Simulation | Mathematical Models | Military/Defense | State-Transition | Microsimulation | Energy/Engineering | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
BookPublication 2014Decision Making in Health and Medicine: Integrating Evidence and Values
Decision making in health care involves consideration of a complex set of diagnostic, therapeutic and …
Decision making in health care involves consideration of a complex set of diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic uncertainties. Medical therapies have side effects, surgical interventions may lead to complications, and diagnostic tests can produce misleading results. Furthermore, patient values and service costs must be considered. Decisions in clinical and health policy require careful weighing of risks and benefits and are commonly a trade-off of competing objectives: maximizing quality of life vs maximizing life expectancy vs minimizing…
Mathematical Models | Decision Analysis | Government/Law | Probability/Bayes | Preferences/Values | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Test Performance | Value of Information | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Global | North America | Europe | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Quantitative Literacy -
BookPublication 2013Making Hard Decisions with Decision Tools, 3rd Edition
Making Hard Decisions with Decision Tools® is a new edition and teaches the fundamental ideas …
Making Hard Decisions with Decision Tools® is a new edition and teaches the fundamental ideas of decision analysis, without an overly technical explanation of the mathematics used in decision analysis. This new version has been purposefully written to be more relevant to students in business and engineering compared to previous versions. This new version also incorporates and implements the powerful DecisionTools® software by Palisade Corporation. At the end of each chapter, topics are illustrated with step-by-step instructions…
Decision Analysis | Military/Defense | Business/Industry | Probability/Bayes | Preferences/Values | Test Performance | Value of Information | Microsimulation | Policy/Regulation | Energy/Engineering | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | North America | Europe -
ReviewPublication 2001Modeling for Health Care and Other Policy Decisions: Uses, Roles and Validity
This is a review article of the role of modeling approaches to guide decision making …
This is a review article of the role of modeling approaches to guide decision making in health care and other domains. The role of models to support recommendations on the cost-effective use of medical technologies and pharmaceuticals is controversial. At the heart of the controversy is the degree to which experimental or other empirical evidence should be required prior to model use. The authors argue that the controversy stems in part from a misconception that…
Mathematical Models | Government/Law | Business/Industry | Priority Setting/Ethics | Evidence Synthesis | Technology Assessment | Environmental Health | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Economics/Finance | Energy/Engineering | Health/Medicine | 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…
Decision Analysis | Government/Law | Decision Theory | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | State-Transition | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Middle East & North Africa -
ArticlePublication 2019Health Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of SSB Taxes for Reducing Cancer Burden in the U.S.
This analysis evaluated the health outcomes, costs, and cost-effectiveness of a national sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) …
This analysis evaluated the health outcomes, costs, and cost-effectiveness of a national sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax policy for reducing obesity-related cancer in the U.S. A probabilistic cohort state-transition model, the Diet Cancer Outcome Model (DiCOM), was used to project the effect of a national $0.01 per ounce SSB excise tax on 13 obesity-associated cancers among U.S. adults age 20 and older over their lifetime. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated using both government affordability and societal perspectives. Results showed…
Mathematical Models | Government/Law | Microsimulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | North America -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2024Resource Pack: Introduction to Benefit-Cost Analysis
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the theory and …
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the theory and practice of benefit-cost analysis. It is targeted towards advanced students as well as practitioners and those interested in teaching benefit-cost analysis. Benefit-cost analysis (also referred to as cost-benefit analysis) is a well-established and widely-used form of economic evaluation. It is designed to inform policy and other decisions by providing evidence on the consequences of alternative interventions. In benefit-cost analysis, all…
Decision Analysis | Government/Law | Preferences/Values | Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Global | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis