Model Parameter Estimation and Uncertainty Analysis: A Report of the ISPOR-SMDM Modeling Good Research Practices Task Force Working Group–6
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A model’s purpose is to inform medical decisions and health care resource allocation. Modelers employ quantitative methods to structure the clinical, epidemiological, and economic evidence base and gain qualitative insight to assist decision makers in making better decisions. From a policy perspective, the value of a model-based analysis lies not simply in its ability to generate a precise point estimate for a specific outcome but also in the systematic examination and responsible reporting of uncertainty surrounding this outcome and the ultimate decision being addressed. Different concepts relating to uncertainty in decision modeling are explored. Stochastic (first-order) uncertainty is distinguished from both parameter (second-order) uncertainty and from heterogeneity, with structural uncertainty relating to the model itself forming another level of uncertainty to consider. The article argues that the estimation of point estimates and uncertainty in parameters is part of a single process and explores the link between parameter uncertainty through to decision uncertainty and the relationship to value-of-information analysis. The article also makes extensive recommendations around the reporting of uncertainty, both in terms of deterministic sensitivity analysis techniques and probabilistic methods. Expected value of perfect information is argued to be the most appropriate presentational technique, alongside cost-effectiveness acceptability curves, for representing decision uncertainty from probabilistic analysis.
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The probabilistic sensitivity analysis randomly drew parameter sets from distributions that reflect the current uncertainty in model parameter estimates.
“To quantify the effect of model parameter uncertainty on cost-effectiveness outcomes, we conducted a PSA by randomly drawing K parameter sets (n_sim) from distributions that reflect the current uncertainty in model parameter estimates.26”
From An Introductory Tutorial on Cohort State-Transition Models in R Using a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Example (2023) · cites this paper as [26]
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“26 The distribution for all the parameters and their values are described in Table 2 and in more detail in the Supplementary Material.”
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- Authors
- Briggs, A. H., Weinstein, M. C., Fenwick, E. A. L., Karnon, J., Sculpher, M. J., & Paltiel, A. D.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Venue
- Medical Decision Making
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2012-09
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 722-732
- ISSN
- 0272-989X (ISSN-L)
- 1552-681X
- OpenAlex
- W2013329800
- Cited by
- 887
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 67 · 2025: 90 · 2024: 82 · 2023: 73 · 2022: 72 · 2021: 73 · 2020: 64 · 2019: 64 · 2018: 50 · 2017: 54 · 2016: 53 · 2015: 55 · 2014: 46 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 107.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Medical Decision Making (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Delphi Technique in Research
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Epidemiology
- Keywords
- model parameter estimation, uncertainty analysis, aleatoric uncertainty, parameter uncertainty, structural uncertainty, heterogeneity, value of information, expected value of perfect information, cost-effectiveness acceptability curves, sensitivity analysis, decision models, healthcare resource allocation
- MeSH terms
- Decision Making, Models, Theoretical, Stochastic Processes, Uncertainty
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