Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36034163›Full record

ArticleOperations research

Quantile Markov Decision Processes.

Xiaocheng Li, Huaiyang Zhong, Margaret L Brandeau

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Operations research. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Xiaocheng LiDepartment of Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305.
Huaiyang ZhongDepartment of Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305.
Margaret L BrandeauDepartment of Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305.

Funding

Making Better Decisions: Policy Modeling for AIDS and Drug AbuseR01DA015612 · NIDA · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI OWENS, DOUGLAS K · 2002 to 2017
$9.4M
Making Better Decisions: Policy Modeling for AIDS and Drug AbuseR37DA015612 · NIDA · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI DOUGLAS K OWENS · 2019 to 2026
$6.3M
NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA015612NIDA NIH HHS R37 DA015612
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The goal of a traditional Markov decision process (MDP) is to maximize expected cumulative reward over a defined horizon (possibly infinite). In many applications, however, a decision maker may be interested in optimizing a specific quantile of the cumulative reward instead of its expectation. In this paper we consider the problem of optimizing the quantiles of the cumulative rewards of a Markov decision process (MDP), which we refer to as a quantile Markov decision process (QMDP). We provide analytical results characterizing the optimal QMDP value function and present a dynamic programming-based algorithm to solve for the optimal policy. The algorithm also extends to the MDP problem with a conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) objective. We illustrate the practical relevance of our model by evaluating it on an HIV treatment initiation problem, where patients aim to balance the potential benefits and risks of the treatment.

Indexed as

Dynamic ProgrammingMarkov Decision ProcessMedical Decision MakingQuantileRisk Measure

Identifiers

PMID36034163
PMCPMC9401554

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.