Applying the nominal group technique for the conceptual validation of ehealth solutions

The development of ehealth applications is a complex task, not only in technological terms, but also in the understanding of both the users' needs, expectations and contexts, and the business models. Therefore, initial conceptual validations might be essential to verify whether the proposed solutions are adequate, sustainable, and worth to be developed. The study reported by this paper applied the nominal group technique to verify the potential suitability and sustainability of a diverse set of ehealth applications to support older adults. The study identified a set of transversal advantages (i.e., promotion of active and healthy, integrated care, and healthcare equity) and barriers (i.e., contextual, personal, and development and deployment barriers. As a conclusion, the nominal group technique was adequate for the conceptual validation of the proposed ehealth solutions and provided comprehensive information about issues that must be carefully considered during the development of these solutions to assure their viability and to reduce research waste.publishe

a nominal group technique study

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Community social valuation: use of nominal group technique in ranking of health conditions from two communities in Temeke and Moshi Districts in Tanzania

This study used the nominal group technique to explore societal value preferences in the ranking of health conditions from two communities in Temeke and Moshi districts in Tanzania. The nominal group technique was applied to a community of lay people including patients and community leaders. In this study we found a relatively high stability of ranking values across sites and informant groups. The nominal group technique was easy for lay people to understand and less time consuming compared to other methods used in health state valuation. The findings indicate that the nominal group technique can be used in the valuation process with a population of lay people to obtain societal preferences as a basis for priority setting in health. This study was limited to using criteria as a guide in the voting exercise, which may have framed respondent's final voting judgement. Further studies are needed to assess informant's responses and test validity and reliability of this method with larger sample size in different sites and informant groups. In conclusion, the nominal group technique may be considered to obtain societal preferences to compliment the current burden of disease data for priority setting. Tanzania Health Research Bulletin Vol.6(2) 2004: 42-5

EXPRESSED SATISFACTION WITH THE NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE AMONG CHANGE AGENTS

Expressed Satisfaction with the Nominal Group Technique Among Change Agents. (December 1986) Jon Neal Gresham The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not policymakers and change agents with differing professional backgrounds and responsibilities, who participated in the structured process of a nominal group in the setting of diverse decision-making and problem-solving conferences, would express satisfaction with the technique used. "Satisfaction" was defined as "the adequate fulfilling of a need," as expressed by participants in nominal group activities. Four conferences at Texas A&M University involving training and decision-making were used to examine the expressed satisfaction of participants with the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) as a tool for identifying and solving problems. They were an international food and water policy conference, a Texas Agricultural Extension Service conference, an English language curriculum conference, and a school principals' conference. The conferences were held between May 1985 and July 1986. The 206 participants were surveyed for expressed satisfaction with the nominal group activities. Analyses of the data concerned with the independent variables were: 1. Previous use of NGT 2. Understanding of the purpose of the NGT 3. Background and profession of participants 4. Participation in other group activities. The dependent variables were the items on the instrument reflecting levels of satisfaction with various aspects of involvement in nominal groups. These "attitude items" were grouped into three theoretical constructs to facilitate comparison of data among the conferences. The constructs were usefulness of the NGT, personal involvement in the NGT, and comparison of nominal groups with other previously used, non-NGT group activities. Phi, Pearson, and Point Bi-Serial correlations were performed on the discrete data to test expressed satisfaction with NGT as affected by the independent variables, as well as by interactions with dependent variables. Participants in all four conferences expressed general satisfaction with the nominal group technique with respect to their personal involvement, the usefulness of nominal groups, and with the nominal group technique as compared with other previously used, non-NGT group activities

Using the nominal group technique to involve young people in an evidence synthesis which explored 'risk' in inpatient mental healthcare

Background In this paper we demonstrate how our application of the nominal group technique was used as a method of involving young people with previous experience of using inpatient mental health services in an evidence synthesis. Methods Nominal group technique is an approach to group decision-making that places weight on all participants having an equal opportunity to express a view, and to influence decisions which are made. It is an effective way to enable people who might otherwise be excluded from decision-making to contribute. Results In this study, the focus of the evidence synthesis was significantly shaped following using the nominal group technique in our stakeholder advisory group meeting. The young people present in the group invited the research group to think differently about which ‘risks’ were important, to consider how young people conceptualised risk differently, focussing on risks with long term impact and quality of life implications, rather than immediate clinical risks. Conclusions Using the nominal group technique with young people did offer a method of promoting the equality of decision making within a stakeholder advisory group to an evidence synthesis project, but care needs to be taken to invite sufficient young people to attend so they can be proportionally represented

Using the nominal group technique to determine a nursing framework for a forensic mental health service : a discussion paper

The Nominal Group Technique is a method used to explore issues, generate ideas, and reach consensus on a topic. The Nominal Group Technique includes individual and group work and is designed to ensure participants have the same opportunity to engage and provide their opinions. While the technique has been used for around six decades to assist groups, in industry, and government organizations to examine issues and make decisions, this technique has received limited attention in nursing research, particularly in mental health. This discussion paper describes the use of a modified Nominal Group Technique for a study designed to determine a nursing decision-making framework for a state-wide forensic mental health service. Modifications were made to the traditional technique, to enable participants to make an informed and collective decision about a suitable framework for the novice to expert nurses, across secure inpatient, prison, and community forensic mental health settings. The Nominal Group Technique generated rich data and offered a structured approach to the process. We argue that the Nominal Group Technique offers an exciting and interactive method for nursing research and can increase opportunity for minority group members to participate. This technique also offers a time efficient way to engage busy clinical nurses to participate in research, with the advantage of members knowing the decision on the day of the group. Consideration, however, needs to be given to the duration and effect on participant concentration, and if not actively managed by facilitators, the possible emergence of group dynamics affecting individuals' decisions. © 2022 The Authors. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

Modified nominal group technique: what and how

Continuous improvement in quality of products/services, more often than not, requires implementation of new ideas in the systems. Consequently, generation of good ideas is regarded as a crucial task in quality management. This paper shows how a traditional brainstorming technique can be integrated with the analytic hierarchy process in generating and subsequently prioritizing a large number of ideas. The working of the integrated technique has been shown by means of two exercises: (1) Identifying important factors to improve quality in teaching, and (2) Identifying important factors to improve quality in academic institutions administration. The method can be applied in many similar situations