Health Technology Assessment in High, Middle, and Low-income Countries: New Systematic and Interdisciplinary Approach For Sound Informed-policy Making: Research Protocole

Mohammed Alkhaldi; Aisha Al Basuoni; Márcia Matos; Marcel Tanner; Sara Ahmed

doi:10.2147/RMHP.S310215

Health Technology Assessment in High, Middle, and Low-income Countries: New Systematic and Interdisciplinary Approach For Sound Informed-policy Making: Research Protocole

Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 2021 Jun 28:14:2757-2770. doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S310215. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Mohammed Alkhaldi^{1

2

3

4}, Aisha Al Basuoni⁵, Márcia Matos¹, Marcel Tanner^{2

3}, Sara Ahmed¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
² Department of Public Health, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
³ The Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland.
⁴ Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.
⁵ Projects Unit, Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, Gaza, Palestine.

Abstract

Technological innovation has a significant role in improving health systems (HSs) and achieving universal health coverage (UHC). The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared resolutions on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and other global organizations emphasized on HTA systems to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). HTA is a modern multidisciplinary decision-making framework linking knowledge and policymaking by assessing the medical, social, economic, organizational, and ethical effects, and/or impacts within health and social systems. The research significance lies in the growing need for HTA at these moments than ever as it is seen as an essential development approach to tackle the current global challenges and pandemics, particularly in developing countries. The research aims to comprehensively evaluate and understand HTA systems concerning the level of knowledge about HTA, current HTA structure, practices, application, capacity, gaps, and solutions. The project starts in January 2021 and ends in January 2022 and will be carried out in seven countries: Canada, Switzerland, Brazil, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Tanzania. A mixed-methods, quantitative and qualitative, along with a literature review will be applied. In each country, ten HTA-associated institutions will complete an adapted electronic survey, developed by the WHO, and ten key-informants selected purposively from the government, academia, NGOs, and private sectors to participate in ten individual in-depth interviews. One government representative from each country will participate in one expanded inter-country workshop. Excel, IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and MAXQDA software programs will be used for data management and analysis. The research will form cutting-edge evidence not only for the seven countries, but also for the global, regional, and national endeavors with regards to opening a room for HTA best application and optimization. It will reveal lessons learned, determine gaps, and build a well-enabled and institutionalized HTA for better UHC, health systems, and multi-sectoral development.

Keywords: HMLICs; HTA systems; health policy and decision-making; health systems.

Grants and funding

The research received various generous funding to cover the monthly stipend of the PI for one year. It is supported financially by the Lindsay Foundation Grant at CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l’Ile-de-Montréal in the amount of CAD 35,000 per annum. The project also received two small grants; ($ 6000) from a USA-based center, Palestinian American Research Center (PARC), through a one-year Research Fellowship. These three funding will be declared in the four manuscripts that will be produced from the project. The research team seeking to attract funding to finance other important technical and logistical needs in seven countries.