In this dissertation we present mathematical models that help answer health policy questions relating to HIV and … Hepatitis C (HCV), and analyze bias in Markov models of disease progression. We begin by developing a Markov decision process … model that examines the timing of testing and treatment for diseases with asymptomatic periods such as HCV. We explicitly …

profile of the HIV/AIDS epidemic (killing essentially young, active adults), we then conclude in favor of an unambiguous … negative effect of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on net fertility in SSA …

The stability of sexual risk behavior over time is a common assumption in models of HIV transmission. In this thesis I … show that this assumption does not hold in a population of gay men at risk of HIV infection and that the violation of this … assumption has major implications for our understanding of HIV transmission. Using multiple statistical models that assume either …

The Cost-effectiveness of Alternative HIV Intervention Portfolios in South Africa. Robert Stavert and Elisa Long … and cost-effectiveness of different portfolios of interventions to prevent HIV infection over a twenty year time horizon …), increasing availability of HIV screening and counseling, and establishing widespread circumcision campaigns would be the most …