Knowledge Translation in Practice: Exploring the Potential Use of MCDA in Central America and the Caribbean

Abstract

The interest on Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) for healthcare priority setting has grown in popularity in the last few years. Literature shows several exercises where MCDA can be used to inform different types of priorities; however, there is little evidence on the feasibility of implementing this method in current institutionalized decision-making processes. We examined the willingness to implement MCDA as a tool to facilitate decision-making in Central America and the Caribbean (CAC). We convene 41 representatives of the healthcare public sector from 10 countries to explore whether they consider MCDA a robust tool to be incorporated in local priority setting processes and which ongoing decision-making process could be benefited from this methodology. We developed a 2-days hands-on training course to explain the technique, advantages and limitations. The group achieved a broad consensus that MCDA can be used in CAC to help priority setting processes because it introduces transparency, facilitates the implementation of a systematic process and is relatively easy to explain to many stakeholders. It was acknowledged that MCDA can be used to inform decisions about coverage, though a major opportunity was identified to help informing other decisions, such as priorities for joint purchasing and the elaboration of national plans.

Keywords: MCDA; central america; health technology assessment; knowledge translation; priority setting.