70 Discrete Event Simulation for Health Technology Assessment
specic value for any model component that requires one (e.g., an attribute,
an event time, and a particular item of global information), in a systematic
way that is in accordance with available knowledge. Broadly, distributions
are used in a DES to sample values at an individual level or for the popu-
lation as a whole. At an individual level, values are obtained from speci-
ed distributions to assign attribute levels or to control an entity’s course
through the logic. For example, a starting age may be assigned to each indi-
vidual by sampling a value from a distribution representing the spread and
frequencies of ages in the eligible population. This use of a distribution typi-