Resources Repository
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ReportPublication 2016Modeling to Inform Strategies to Improve Population Health
This workshop report summarizes a workshop convened by the Institute of Medicine to explore the potential …
This workshop report summarizes a workshop convened by the Institute of Medicine to explore the potential uses of simulation and other types of modeling for improving health. Participants worked to identify how modeling could inform population health decision making (selecting and refining potential strategies, ranging from interventions to investments) based on lessons learned from models that have been, or have not been, used successfully, opportunities and barriers to incorporating models into decision making, and data needs and…
Microsimulation | State-Transition | Government/Law | Mathematical Models | Dynamic Simulation | Decision Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Environmental Health | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Climate/Environment | Health/Medicine | North America -
ReviewPublication 2016Choosing an Epidemiological Model Structure for Economic Evaluation
This review presents a taxonomy of epidemiological model structures and applies it to the economic …
This review presents a taxonomy of epidemiological model structures and applies it to the economic evaluation of public health interventions for non-communicable diseases. Growing pressures on health services and on social care have led to a greater need for prevention of chronic diseases. In order for decision makers to make informed judgements about how to best spend finite public health resources, they must be able to quantify the anticipated costs, benefits, and opportunity costs of…
Microsimulation | State-Transition | Culture/Society | Mathematical Models | Dynamic Transmission | Dynamic Simulation | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Environmental Health | Health Systems | Climate/Environment | Health/Medicine -
ReviewPublication 2016Decision Support for Infectious Disease Control
This report from RAND reviews decision-support tools, including models and nonmodeling approaches, that are relevant to …
This report from RAND reviews decision-support tools, including models and nonmodeling approaches, that are relevant to infectious disease prevention, detection, and response and aligns these tools with real-world policy questions that the tools can help address. This overview is designed to help modelers and other technical experts understand the questions that policymakers will raise and the decisions they must make. The report also presents policymakers with the capabilities and limitations of the different tools that may…
Microsimulation | State-Transition | Government/Law | Mathematical Models | Dynamic Transmission | Dynamic Simulation | Infectious Diseases | Global Governance | Health/Medicine | Military/Defense | Global -
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…
Test Performance | Culture/Society | Health Outcomes | Infectious Diseases | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2022Comparison of Home Antigen Testing With RT-PCR and Viral Culture During the Course of SARS-CoV-2 Infection
As the availability of at-home self-collected antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 increases, understanding their efficacy is …
As the availability of at-home self-collected antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 increases, understanding their efficacy is crucial. A study in San Diego and Denver between January and May 2021 assessed the reliability of these tests against standard RT-PCR tests and viral cultures. Of the 225 participants with confirmed infections, the antigen test sensitivity was found to be 50% during the infectious period, 64% against the same-day RT-PCR, and 84% against the same-day cultures. Sensitivity was highest…
Test Performance | Culture/Society | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
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…
State-Transition | Government/Law | Mathematical Models | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | 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…
State-Transition | Government/Law | Decision Theory | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Decision Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Middle East & North Africa -
EditorialPublication 2020Waiting for Certainty on COVID-19 Antibody Tests — At What Cost?
This perspective anticipates the availability of serologic antibody testing and considers its potential usefulness in mitigation …
This perspective anticipates the availability of serologic antibody testing and considers its potential usefulness in mitigation policy to reduce COVID-19 transmission. For example: Could we screen for serologic antibodies as a proxy for possible immunity and identify people who could return to the workplace with less severe mitigation measures? The authors acknowledge the uncertainties raised by many policy actors, including the WHO, such as, "Do antibodies confer immunity and, if so, for how long? How accurate is…
Test Performance | Government/Law | Probability/Bayes | Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Global | North America -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2020Resource Pack: Cost-Effectiveness of SSB Excise Taxes
The use of fiscal instruments, such as taxes or subsidies, to promote healthier dietary behavior …
The use of fiscal instruments, such as taxes or subsidies, to promote healthier dietary behavior has been of increasing interest in the last decade as the evidence-base builds for the health and economic consequences of obesity, overweight, and unhealthy eating. The motivation for using fiscal instruments in nutrition policy is to make the unhealthy option less affordable and less economically attractive by increasing the price via a tax, and therefore reduce the incentive to consume…
Microsimulation | Government/Law | Health Outcomes | Evidence Synthesis | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Food/Agriculture | Health/Medicine | North America | Latin America & Caribbean | Europe | Oceania