TY - JOUR
T1 - A Prototype Software Framework for Transferable Computational Health Economic Models and Its Early Application in Youth Mental Health
AU - Hamilton, Matthew P.
AU - Gao, Caroline
AU - Wiesner, Glen
AU - Filia, Kate M.
AU - Menssink, Jana M.
AU - Plencnerova, Petra
AU - Baker, David G.
AU - McGorry, Patrick D.
AU - Parker, Alexandra
AU - Karnon, Jonathan
AU - Cotton, Sue M.
AU - Mihalopoulos, Cathrine
N1 - Funding Information:
Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions. Software framework development was funded by Orygen, VicHealth, Victoria University and an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship to Matthew Hamilton. The utility mapping study to which utility mapping modules were applied was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC, APP1076940), Orygen and headspace.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Summary: We are developing an economic model to explore multiple topics in Australian youth mental health policy. To help make that model more readily transferable to other jurisdictions, we developed a software framework for authoring modular computational health economic models (CHEMs) (the software files that implement health economic models). We specified framework user requirements for: a simple programming syntax; a template CHEM module; tools for authoring new CHEM modules; search tools for finding existing CHEM modules; tools for supplying CHEM modules with data; reproducible analysis and reporting tools; and tools to help maintain a CHEM project website. We implemented the framework as six development version code libraries in the programming language R that integrate with online services for software development and research data archiving. We used the framework to author five development version R libraries of CHEM modules focussed on utility mapping in youth mental health. These modules provide tools for variable validation, dataset description, multi-attribute instrument scoring, construction of mapping models, reporting of mapping studies and making out of sample predictions. We assessed these CHEM module libraries as mostly meeting transparency, reusability and updatability criteria that we have previously developed, but requiring more detailed documentation and unit testing of individual modules. Our software framework has potential value as a prototype for future tools to support the development of transferable CHEMs. Code: Visit https://www.ready4-dev.com for more information about how to find, install and apply the prototype software framework.
AB - Summary: We are developing an economic model to explore multiple topics in Australian youth mental health policy. To help make that model more readily transferable to other jurisdictions, we developed a software framework for authoring modular computational health economic models (CHEMs) (the software files that implement health economic models). We specified framework user requirements for: a simple programming syntax; a template CHEM module; tools for authoring new CHEM modules; search tools for finding existing CHEM modules; tools for supplying CHEM modules with data; reproducible analysis and reporting tools; and tools to help maintain a CHEM project website. We implemented the framework as six development version code libraries in the programming language R that integrate with online services for software development and research data archiving. We used the framework to author five development version R libraries of CHEM modules focussed on utility mapping in youth mental health. These modules provide tools for variable validation, dataset description, multi-attribute instrument scoring, construction of mapping models, reporting of mapping studies and making out of sample predictions. We assessed these CHEM module libraries as mostly meeting transparency, reusability and updatability criteria that we have previously developed, but requiring more detailed documentation and unit testing of individual modules. Our software framework has potential value as a prototype for future tools to support the development of transferable CHEMs. Code: Visit https://www.ready4-dev.com for more information about how to find, install and apply the prototype software framework.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85193724404&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s40273-024-01378-8
DO - 10.1007/s40273-024-01378-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 38767713
AN - SCOPUS:85193724404
SN - 1170-7690
VL - 42
SP - 833
EP - 842
JO - PharmacoEconomics
JF - PharmacoEconomics
ER -
