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BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS INFLUENCING ETHICAL EVALUATION IN HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

Part of: Special Collection - Methods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 July 2015

Nazila Assasi ,
Lisa Schwartz ,
Jean-Eric Tarride ,
Daria O’Reilly  and
Ron Goeree
Nazila Assasi
Affiliation:
Programs for Assessment of Technology in Health (PATH) Research Institute, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton; Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster [email protected]
Lisa Schwartz
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University; Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University
Jean-Eric Tarride
Affiliation:
Programs for Assessment of Technology in Health (PATH) Research Institute, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton; Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University
Daria O’Reilly
Affiliation:
Programs for Assessment of Technology in Health (PATH) Research Institute, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton; Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University
Ron Goeree
Affiliation:
Programs for Assessment of Technology in Health (PATH) Research Institute, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton; Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University
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Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore barriers and facilitators influencing the integration of ethical considerations in health technology assessment (HTA).

Methods: The study consisted of two complementary approaches: (a) a systematic review of the literature; and (b) an eighteen-item online survey that was distributed to fifty-six HTA agencies affiliated with the International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment.

Results: The review identified twenty-six relevant articles. The most often cited barriers in the literature were: scarcity, heterogeneity and complexity of ethical analysis methods; challenges in translating ethical analysis results into knowledge that is useful for decision makers; and lack of organizational support in terms of required expertise, time and financial resources. The most frequently cited facilitators included: usage of value-based appraisal methods, stakeholder and public engagement, enhancement of practice guidelines, ethical expertise, and educational interventions.

Representatives of twenty-six (46.5 percent) agencies from nineteen countries completed the survey. A median of 10 percent (interquartile range, 5 percent to 50 percent) of the HTA products produced by the agencies was reported to include an assessment of ethical aspects. The most commonly perceived barriers were: limited ethical knowledge and expertise, insufficient time and resources, and difficulties in finding ethical evidence or using ethical guidelines. Educational interventions, demand by policy makers, and involvement of ethicists in HTA were the most commonly perceived facilitators.

Conclusions: Our results emphasize the importance of simplification of ethics methodology and development of good practice guidelines in HTA, as well as capacity building for engaging HTA practitioners in ethical analyses.

Keywords

Health technology assessmentEthical analysisBarriersFacilitatorsSurvey
Type
Methods
Information
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , 2015 , pp. 113 - 123
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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