A novel decision modeling framework for health policy analyses when outcomes are influenced by social and disease processes.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Health policy simulation models incorporate disease processes but often ignore social processes that influence health outcomes, potentially leading to suboptimal policy recommendations. To address this gap, we developed a novel decision-analytic modeling framework to integrate social processes.

Methods

We evaluated a simplified decision problem using two models: a standard decision-analytic model and a model incorporating our social factors framework. The standard model simulated individuals transitioning through three disease natural history states-healthy, sick, and dead-without accounting for differential health system utilization. Our social factors framework incorporated heterogeneous health insurance coverage, which influenced disease progression and health sys

SUBMITTER: Cusick MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11888512 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature