Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2007Making the Right Decision: Benjamin Franklin in 1736
This paper applies a decision analytic approach to a past decision made by Benjamin Franklin with regard to …
This paper applies a decision analytic approach to a past decision made by Benjamin Franklin with regard to inoculating his son against smallpox. Benjamin Franklin in his autobiography said: “In 1736 I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old, by the smallpox taken in the common way. I long regretted bitterly and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. This I mention for the sake of the parents who…
Decision Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2007Including Boys in an HPV Vaccination Program: A CEA in a Low-Resource Setting
This paper looks at the cost-effectiveness of including boys vs girls alone in a pre-adolescent vaccination …
This paper looks at the cost-effectiveness of including boys vs girls alone in a pre-adolescent vaccination program against human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18 in Brazil. Using demographic, epidemiological, and cancer data from Brazil, the authors developed a dynamic transmission model of HPV infection between males and females. Model-projected reductions in HPV incidence under different vaccination scenarios were applied to a stochastic model of cervical carcinogenesis to project lifetime costs and benefits. They found that at 90%…
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Microsimulation | Calibration/Validation | Infectious Diseases | Chronic Disease/Risk | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Latin America & Caribbean -
GuidelinesPublication 2007Preference Measurement in Economic Analysis
This guide includes an overview of the concepts of preference measurement and quality-adjusted life years, …
This guide includes an overview of the concepts of preference measurement and quality-adjusted life years, a description of the most common techniques used for measuring preferences in economic evaluation, a summary of experience measuring preferences in the VA Cooperative Studies Program.
Preferences/Values | Health Outcomes | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2007Mortality-Risk Valuation and Age
This article addresses whether a single value of statistical life (VSL) should be applied to …
This article addresses whether a single value of statistical life (VSL) should be applied to all age groups or whether lower values should be used for the elderly, recognizing that their life expectancies are shorter than those of younger people. Surveys of different age groups' willingness to pay (WTP) for mortality-risk reductions can potentially help resolve this issue. The 36 studies reviewed suggest that the literature is split on whether older people have a lower WTP…
Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
ReviewPublication 2006Ethical Issues in Resource Allocation, Research, and New Product Development
Ethical dilemmas arising in setting priorities among interventions and among individuals in need of care …
Ethical dilemmas arising in setting priorities among interventions and among individuals in need of care are most acute when needs are great and resources few. This chapter from the Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries 2nd edition addresses some of these concerns, identifying some of the principal ethical issues that arise in the development and allocation of effective interventions for developing countries and discussing some alternative resolutions. Resource allocation in health and elsewhere should satisfy two main…
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Preferences/Values | Priority Setting/Ethics | Culture/Society | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ReviewPublication 2005Implications of Modern Decision Science for Military Decision-Support Systems
This review monograph was prepared in response to a request from the United States Air …
This review monograph was prepared in response to a request from the United States Air Force Research Laboratory for a study of modern decision science that would aid in its planning of research programs and, more specifically, developing methods and tools for decision support. The emphasis is on relatively high-level decisionmaking rather than, say, that of pilots or intelligence analysts in the midst of real-time operations. They focus largely on what the military refers to as…
Decision Theory | Decision Psychology | Decision Analysis | Military/Defense | North America -
ReviewPublication 2003Public Health Policy and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
This chapter presents an overview of the uses for cost-effectiveness analysis and disease-simulation modeling to …
This chapter presents an overview of the uses for cost-effectiveness analysis and disease-simulation modeling to rigorously evaluate alternatives to reduce mortality from cervical cancer. Scientific advances have provided opportunities over time to revisit strategies for cervical cancer prevention. How to invest health resources wisely, such that public health benefits are maximized-and opportunity costs are minimized-is a critical question in the setting of enhanced cytologic screening methods, human papillomavirus DNA testing, and vaccine development. Developing sound…
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Mathematical Models | Infectious Diseases | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Global -
ArticlePublication 2002Empirically Calibrated Model of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in the United States
This article presents an epidemiologic model of hepatitis C in the United States. The authors …
This article presents an epidemiologic model of hepatitis C in the United States. The authors used empirical calibration of model parameters to gain insights into uncertainty in the natural history of hepatitis C and to improve future projections. The authors identified model inputs by way of a systematic review. Model simulations were conducted and model predictions were compared with epidemiologic data on infection prevalence and mortality from liver cancer. Goodness-of-fit criteria were used to identify…
State-Transition | Mathematical Models | Calibration/Validation | Infectious Diseases | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2000Discipline of Cost-Benefit Analysis
Cost-benefit analysis is a general discipline, based on the use of some foundational principles, which …
Cost-benefit analysis is a general discipline, based on the use of some foundational principles, which are not altogether controversial, but have nevertheless considered plausibility. Divisiveness increases as various additional requirements are imposed. There is a trade-off here between easier usability (through locked-up formulae) and more general acceptability (through allowing parametric variations). The paper, by Amartya Sen, examines and scrutinizes the merits and demerits of these additional requirements. The particular variant of cost-benefit approach that is…
Preferences/Values | Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Government/Law