In quest of useful health care decision models for developing countries

The formulation and solution of health care decision problems is of critical importance to the health and socio-economic betterment of developing countries. In developed regions, solution of such problems is now generally based on the use of quantitative decision models (QDMs) drawn from a variety of disciplines, including operations research, statistics, economics, and marketing. It is unfortunately the case that conditions currently inherent to developing countries tend to limit the value of many of these models in solving both health- and nonhealth-related decision problems. The result is a need to devise alternative methods and procedures that effectively solve key health care decision problems yet are not so susceptible to the limitations of developing country situations. Based on a series of recent research efforts, recommendations are made for the formulation and evaluation of decision-making procedures considered to be effective alternatives to standards QDMs. The suggested evaluation scheme is shown to be, itself, a means for improving health care decision-making in developing countries.