Soundbites: Models and Tools

Upwards of $5 trillion in economic losses may be due to mental disorders each year, a value much higher than previously estimated. This study captures the global burden of mental disorders using a composite estimation approach. The result is a more complete image of a truly global public health issue.

Microsimulation models used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of novel cervical cancer screening technologies rely on accurate human papillomavirus (HPV) transition risks. To inform the refinement of such models, authors compared the early natural history of HPV types using three large prospective studies of immunocompetent women.
This review provides an overview of decision-analytic models using the clinical example of treatment for multiple myeloma. Based on a systematic literature search, approaches included decision-tree, state-transition, and discrete event simulation models, partitioned-survival analysis, and area-under-the-curve modeling.
Authors propose a new health decision modeling framework to evaluate novel cervical screening technologies. The framework, described in this publication, de-emphasizes previously used cytologic-colposcopic-histologic diagnoses, relying instead on HPV type and duration of infection as the major determinants of model transition probabilities.