- theory and concepts
- decision theory
- decision psychology
- probability/bayes
- preferences/values
- priority setting/ethics
- evidence synthesis
- test performance
- value of information
- models and tools
- mathematical models
- state-transition
- dynamic transmission
- microsimulation
- calibration/validation
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Resources Repository
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Tools/ModelsPublication, Teaching Resource 2017Publicly Available Software Tools for Decision-Makers During an Emergent Epidemic
Epidemics and emerging infectious diseases are becoming an increasing threat to global populations-challenging public health …
Epidemics and emerging infectious diseases are becoming an increasing threat to global populations-challenging public health practitioners, decision makers and researchers to plan, prepare, identify and respond to outbreaks in near real-timeframes. The aim of this research is to evaluate the range of public domain and freely available software epidemic modelling tools. Twenty freely utilizable software tools underwent assessment of software usability, utility and key functionalities. Stochastic and agent based tools were found to be highly…
Dynamic Simulation | Mathematical Models | Dynamic Transmission | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Climate/Environment | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Quantitative Literacy -
GuidelinesPublication, Teaching Resource 2018Behavioral Economics Guide 2018
The 2018 Behavioral Economics Guide provides an introduction to behavioral economics, a review of developments …
The 2018 Behavioral Economics Guide provides an introduction to behavioral economics, a review of developments in the field, insights from practitioners, and general resources such as postgraduate programs and scholarly journals. This is the fifth edition of this now yearly publication. The 2018 edition features an introduction written by Robert Cialdini. Behavioraleconomics.com is the official home of the Behavioral Economics Guide. The guide is downloadable free of charge from the website.
Preferences/Values | Decision Psychology | Decision Theory | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional -
Tutorial/PrimerPublication, Teaching Resource 1980Threshold Approach to Clinical Decision Making
This classic paper provides a "tutorial" for students learning about diagnostic testing, probability revision, and …
This classic paper provides a "tutorial" for students learning about diagnostic testing, probability revision, and how to calculate thresholds for testing, treatment, and no treatment. The authors describe how a physician's estimate of the probability that a patient has a particular disease is a principal factor in the determination of whether to withhold treatment, obtain more data by testing, or treat without subjecting the patient to the risks of further diagnostic tests. Using the concepts of decision analysis,…
Probability/Bayes | Test Performance | Value of Information | Decision Analysis | Health/Medicine -
Tutorial/PrimerPublication, Teaching Resource 2024Tutorial: Building Decision Trees
This tutorial illustrates the basic steps needed to develop decision trees in Amua using a …
This tutorial illustrates the basic steps needed to develop decision trees in Amua using a disease screening example. It details the process of how to build the structure of a decision tree, parameterize the model with probabilities and relevant outcomes (i.e., life expectancy), evaluate three alternative screening strategies in a baseline scenario, and perform one-way sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of the results to different parameter values. Amua, the Swahili word meaning “decide”/“solve”, is…
Probability/Bayes | Mathematical Models | Decision Analysis | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional -
Tools/ModelsInteractive, Teaching Resource 2020Interactive Graphic: Interpreting a COVID-19 Test Result
Currently, the most common diagnostic test for COVID-19 relies on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction …
Currently, the most common diagnostic test for COVID-19 relies on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and most often uses samples obtained from the respiratory tract by nasopharyngeal swab. This interactive graphic demonstrates the influence of the prior probability of COVID-19, the test sensitivity (i.e., the probability of a positive test conditional on disease presence), and the test specificity (i.e., the probability of a negative test conditional on disease absence) on the post-test probability of…
Probability/Bayes | Test Performance | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | High School | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Graphics/Visualization | Quantitative Literacy -
ToolInteractive, Teaching Resource 2020RAND Critical Care Surge Response Tool
This Excel-based model allows decisionmakers at all levels (i.e., hospitals, health care systems, states, regions) …
This Excel-based model allows decisionmakers at all levels (i.e., hospitals, health care systems, states, regions) to examine the current critical care capacity in the nation’s hospitals and rapidly explore strategies for increasing capacity to provide care for the sickest COVID-19 patients. The tool was developed by the RAND Corporation in response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Model input parameters to the Excel spreadsheet include baseline number of beds, critical care doctors and nurses, respiratory therapists,…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Mathematical Models | Operations Research | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | North America | Professional | Policy Translation -
Tutorial/PrimerWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2015Decision Theory
This chapter on normative decision theory is from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, a dynamic reference …
This chapter on normative decision theory is from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, a dynamic reference work available online. Decision theory is concerned with the reasoning underlying an person's choices, whether a mundane choice between taking the bus or getting a taxi, or a more far-reaching choice about whether to pursue a demanding political career. The orthodox normative decision theory, expected utility (EU) theory, essentially says that, in situations of uncertainty, one should prefer the option…
Preferences/Values | Decision Theory | Economics/Finance | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Quantitative Literacy -
Tutorial/PrimerPublication, Teaching Resource 2014Decision Theory: A Formal Philosophical Introduction
Decision theory is the study of how choices are and should be made in a …
Decision theory is the study of how choices are and should be made in a variety of different contexts. The author approaches the topic from a formal-philosophical point of view with a focus on normative and conceptual issues. After considering the question of how decision problems should be framed, he examines both the standard theories of chance under conditions of certainty, risk and uncertainty and some of the current debates about how uncertainty should be measured and how…
Preferences/Values | Decision Theory | Economics/Finance | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Quantitative Literacy -
Tutorial/PrimerPublication, Teaching Resource 2015Economic Evaluations with Agent-Based Modelling: An Introduction
This tutorial presents the basic concepts and important features of agent-based models, and provides a …
This tutorial presents the basic concepts and important features of agent-based models, and provides a case study of a simple cost effectiveness analysis of screening for an infectious disease. Agent-based modelling (ABM) is a relatively new technique, which overcomes some of the limitations of other methods commonly used for economic evaluations. These limitations include linearity, homogeneity and stationarity. Agents in ABMs are autonomous entities, who interact with each other and with the environment. ABMs provide…
Dynamic Simulation | Mathematical Models | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Conceptual Mapping | Quantitative Literacy