Katherine Cowan Consulting Limited, St Leonards, UK.
Department of Applied Health Research, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
Health Res Policy Syst. 2021 Mar 10;19(1):34. doi: 10.1186/s12961-021-00693-2.
Prioritisation processes are widely used in healthcare research and increasingly in social care research. Previous research has recommended using consensus development methods for inclusive research agenda setting. This research has highlighted the need for transparent and systematic methods for priority setting. Yet there has been little research on how to conduct prioritisation processes using rapid methods. This is a particular concern when prioritisation needs to happen rapidly. This paper aims to describe and discuss a process of rapidly identifying and prioritising a shortlist of innovations for rapid evaluation applied in the field of adult social care and social work.
We adapted the James Lind Alliance approach to priority setting for rapid use. We followed four stages: (1) Identified a long list of innovations, (2) Developed shortlisting criteria, (3) Grouped and sifted innovations, and (4) Prioritised innovations in a multi-stakeholder workshop (n = 23). Project initiation through to completion of the final report took four months.
Twenty innovations were included in the final shortlist (out of 158 suggested innovations). The top five innovations for evaluation were identified and findings highlighted key themes which influenced prioritisation. The top five priorities (listed here in alphabetical order) were: Care coordination for dementia in the community, family group conferencing, Greenwich prisons social care, local area coordination and MySense.Ai. Feedback from workshop participants (n = 15) highlighted tensions from using a rapid process (e.g. challenges of reaching consensus in one workshop).
The method outlined in this manuscript can be used to rapidly prioritise innovations for evaluation in a feasible and robust way. We outline some implications and compromises of rapid prioritisation processes for future users of this approach to consider.
优先排序过程在医疗保健研究中被广泛应用，在社会保健研究中也越来越多地被应用。先前的研究建议使用共识发展方法来制定包容性的研究议程。这项研究强调了需要使用透明和系统的方法来进行优先排序。然而，关于如何使用快速方法进行优先排序的研究甚少。当需要快速进行优先排序时，这是一个特别关注的问题。本文旨在描述和讨论一种快速识别和优先考虑成人社会保健和社会工作领域快速评估应用的创新方案短名单的过程。
我们对快速使用的优先排序方法进行了适应性调整，采用了詹姆斯·林德联盟（James Lind Alliance）的方法。我们遵循了四个阶段：（1）确定一长串创新方案，（2）制定筛选标准，（3）分组筛选创新方案，（4）在多利益攸关方研讨会上对创新方案进行优先排序（n=23）。从项目启动到最终报告完成，历时四个月。
最终的短名单包括 20 项创新方案（从 158 项建议的创新方案中选出）。确定了五项最需要评估的创新方案，并发现了影响优先排序的关键主题。前五名的优先事项（此处按字母顺序列出）是：社区痴呆症的护理协调、家庭小组会议、格林威治监狱的社会关怀、区域协调和 MySense.Ai。来自研讨会参与者（n=15）的反馈突出了快速流程带来的紧张局势（例如，在一次研讨会上达成共识的挑战）。
本文中概述的方法可以用于快速优先排序创新方案，以便以可行且稳健的方式进行评估。我们概述了未来使用这种方法的用户需要考虑的快速优先排序过程的一些影响和妥协。
