Health technology assessment of public health interventions: an analysis of characteristics and comparison of methods-study protocol

Mathes T, Willms G, Polus S, et al. Health technology assessment of public health interventions: an analysis of characteristics and comparison of methods-study protocol. SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS. 2018;7(1): 79.Background: Conducting a health technology assessment (HTA) of public health interventions (PHIs) poses some challenges. PHIs are often complex interventions, which affect the number and degree of interactions of the aspects to be assessed. Randomized controlled trials on PHIs are rare as they are difficult to conduct because of ethical or feasibility issues. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the methodological characteristics and to compare the applied assessment methods in HTAs on PHIs. Methods: We will systematically search HTA agencies for HTAs on PHIs published between 2012 and 2016. We will identify the HTAs by screening the webpages of members of international HTA organizations. One reviewer will screen the list of HTAs on the webpages of members of international HTA organization, and a second review will double-check the excluded records. For this methodological review, we define a PHI as a population-based intervention on health promotion or for primary prevention of chronic or non-chronic diseases. Only full HTA reports will be included. At maximum, we will include a sample of 100 HTAs. In the case that we identify more than 100 relevant HTAs, we will perform a random selection. We will extract data on effectiveness, safety and economic as well as on social, cultural, ethical and legal aspects in a priori piloted standardized tables. We will not assess the risk of bias as we focus on exploring methodological features. Data extraction will be performed by one reviewer and verified by a second. We will synthesize data using tables and in a structured narrative way. Discussion: Our analysis will provide a comprehensive and current overview of methods applied in HTAs on PHIs. We will discuss approaches that may be promising to overcome the challenges of evaluating PHIs

Scientology

Scientology war das gesellschaftspolitische Thema der 1990er Jahre und bis zu den Ereignissen des »11. September« galt Scientology als Synonym des Bösen überhaupt. Diese erste umfassende deutschsprachige Scientology-Analyse, die keinem normativen Ansatz verpflichtet ist, lässt die Frage nach dem Bösen notwendig offen. Aber sie kommt zu einem unbequemen Ergebnis, weil der Blick »jenseits der Devianz« den scientologischen Wesenszug der modernen Gesellschaft und ihrer »Normalitätsreligion« enthüllt

Scientology

Scientology war das gesellschaftspolitische Thema der 1990er Jahre und bis zu den Ereignissen des »11. September« galt Scientology als Synonym des Bösen überhaupt. Diese erste umfassende deutschsprachige Scientology-Analyse, die keinem normativen Ansatz verpflichtet ist, lässt die Frage nach dem Bösen notwendig offen. Aber sie kommt zu einem unbequemen Ergebnis, weil der Blick »jenseits der Devianz« den scientologischen Wesenszug der modernen Gesellschaft und ihrer »Normalitätsreligion« enthüllt

Health Technology Assessment of Public Health Interventions. Published 2012 to 2016: An Analysis of Characteristics and Comparison of Methods

Polus S, Mathes T, Klingler C, et al. Health Technology Assessment of Public Health Interventions. Published 2012 to 2016: An Analysis of Characteristics and Comparison of Methods. International journal of technology assessment in health care. 2019;35(4):280-290.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the methodological characteristics and compare the assessment methods applied in health technology assessments (HTAs) of public health interventions (PHIs).; METHODS: We defined a PHI as a population-based intervention on health promotion or for primary prevention of chronic or nonchronic diseases. HTAs on PHIs were identified by systematically searching the Web pages of members of international HTA networks. We included only full HTA reports published between 2012 and 2016. Two reviewers extracted data on the methods used to assess effectiveness/safety, as well as on economic, social, cultural, ethical, and legal aspects using a-priori standardized tables.; RESULTS: We included ten HTAs provided by four different organizations. Of these, all reports assessed the effectiveness of the interventions and conducted economic evaluations, seven investigated social/cultural aspects, and four each considered legal and ethical aspects, respectively. Some reports addressed applicability, context/setting, and intervention fidelity issues in different ways. We found that most HTAs adapted their methods to some extent, for example, by including nonrandomized studies, expanding the search strategy, involving stakeholders, or applying a framework to guide the HTA process.; CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis provides a comprehensive overview of methods applied in HTAs on public health interventions. We found that a heterogeneous set of approaches is used to deal with the challenges of evaluating complex public health interventions

Additional file 1: of Health technology assessment of public health interventions: an analysis of characteristics and comparison of methods—study protocol

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