What is Decision Science? – Center for Health Decision Science

Decision Science is the collection of quantitative techniques used to inform decision-making at the individual and population levels. It includes decision analysis, risk analysis, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, constrained optimization, simulation modeling, and behavioral decision theory, as well as parts of operations research, microeconomics, statistical inference, management control, cognitive and social psychology, and computer science. By focusing on decisions as the unit of analysis, decision science provides a unique framework for understanding public health problems, and for improving policies to address those problems.

How is decision science different from other research approaches?

While most fields of research focus on producing new knowledge, decision science is uniquely concerned with making optimal choices based on available information. Decision science seeks to make plain the scientific issues and value judgments underlying these decisions, and to identify tradeoffs that might accompany any particular action or inaction.

What kinds of tools and methods do decision scientists use?

Decision science utilizes a variety of tools which include models for decision-making under conditions of uncertainty, experimental and descriptive studies of decision-making behavior, economic analysis of competitive and strategic decisions, approaches for facilitating decision-making by groups, and mathematical modeling techniques.

Where is decision science used?

Decision science has been used in business and management, law and education, environmental regulation, military science, public health and public policy. CHDS uses decision analytic methods to inform policies and practices that improve population health by systematically integrating scientific evidence with explicit consideration of individual and societal values for outcomes such as mortality, quality of life, and costs.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is risk analysis?

Risk analysis involves risk assessment (identifying and characterizing hazards to public health), risk management (evaluating how to protect public health), and risk communication (understanding and explaining health risks). It is used to protect public health and the environment by developing, organizing, and communicating knowledge about risks within a framework useful for individual, organizational, and government decision making. Learn more by visiting the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis website.

What is cost-effectiveness analysis?

Cost-effectiveness analysis compares the incremental costs of alternative interventions to their effects on health and longevity. It is typically used to prioritize and select among options for medical treatment and prevention. Costs are measured in monetary units. Outcomes, or effects, are measured in nonmonetary units. The effects measure may be natural units, such as deaths averted, life years gained, or cases of illness or injury avoided. Effects also may be measured using units that integrate effects on health and longevity, such as quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) or disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs).

What is benefit-cost analysis?

Benefit-cost analysis is similar to cost-effectiveness analysis in that it compares the additional costs of alternative interventions to their outcomes. However, in this case the value of the outcomes is measured in monetary units, which may include both health and non-health benefits such as environmental improvements. These monetary values are estimated based on the willingness of those affected by the policy to exchange money for the outcome of concern. Benefit-cost analysis is often used to evaluate environmental, health, and safety regulations and policies.

What is operations research?

Operations research is a discipline that applies advanced analytical methods in order to facilitate better decision making. Operations research employs techniques from mathematical sciences, such as mathematical modeling, statistical analysis, and mathematical optimization, in order to determine optimal or near-optimal solutions to complex decision-making problems. Operations research emphasizes human-technology interaction, and focuses on practical applications, it overlaps with other disciplines including industrial engineering and operations management, as well as psychology and organization science. Operations research is often used to help determine the maximum (profit, performance, or yield for example) or minimum (loss, risk, or cost) of some real-world objective. While it originated out of military efforts before World War II, its techniques have grown and are applied to problems in all variety of industries.