Section of Hygiene, University Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health - Public Health Area, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Front Public Health. 2022 Feb 10;10:795763. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.795763. eCollection 2022.
Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is a multidisciplinary process that synthesizes, with a systematic, transparent, impartial and robust methodological approach, the main information on the medical, economic, ethical and social implications of the use and dissemination of a health technology. Its aim is to support decision-makers in identifying safe, effective, patient-centered and best-value health policies, in order to promote an equitable, efficient, and high-quality health system. Given the continued application of innovative technologies into clinical practice, healthcare professionals need to be able to adequately evaluate these technologies using evidence-based approaches such as HTA. Therefore, the implementation of training in HTA is crucial. The aim of this study was to investigate existing HTA training initiatives for healthcare professionals provided by international HTA agencies and organizations around the world.
From March to November 2020, the websites of HTA agencies and organizations belonging to the European network for HTA (EUnetHTA) and to the International Network of Agencies for HTA (INAHTA), and the website of the HTA International (HTAi), were explored for identifying the HTA training initiatives directed to healthcare professionals. In addition, we screened the training initiatives proposed at European level by EUnetHTA as part of its Joint Actions and conducted in collaboration with its public-private partners. Specific keywords were searched in English and adapted to French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and German. Data extraction of the retrieved training initiatives was conducted from November 2020 to February 2021 and considered the following information: agency, country, website, coordinator, type of initiative, target, topic, main contents, and language.
Out of 124 agencies/organizations/EUnetHTA public-private partners screened, only 21 provided training initiatives for healthcare professionals. A total of 55 training initiatives were analyzed, 85.5% of which were delivered at the European level and 14.5% at the international level. The countries with a greater number of courses were: Austria, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Twenty-one training initiatives focused on HTA application and methodology while 34 on specific HTA domains, particularly on the economic one. The technologies covered were mainly drugs.
Our study revealed a limited number of HTA training programs targeting healthcare professionals. HTA supports the decision-making processes concerning the use and application of health technologies with scientific evidence. Indeed, training of healthcare professionals in this field should be a key driver in implementing evidence-based healthcare choices and through rigorous methodological approaches such as HTA, in order to ensure proper health governance and value-based application of technological innovations in clinical practice. Therefore, capacity building of healthcare professionals in this area should be enhanced by using appropriate and effective training initiatives and educational strategies.
卫生技术评估（HTA）是一个多学科的过程，它采用系统、透明、公正和稳健的方法学方法，综合了有关卫生技术使用和传播的医学、经济、伦理和社会影响的主要信息。其目的是支持决策者确定安全、有效、以患者为中心和最佳价值的卫生政策，以促进公平、高效和高质量的卫生系统。鉴于创新技术不断应用于临床实践，医疗保健专业人员需要能够使用 HTA 等循证方法充分评估这些技术。因此，实施 HTA 培训至关重要。本研究旨在调查全球国际 HTA 机构和组织为医疗保健专业人员提供的现有 HTA 培训计划。
2020 年 3 月至 11 月，我们对属于欧洲 HTA 网络（EUnetHTA）和国际 HTA 网络（INAHTA）的 HTA 机构和组织的网站以及 HTA 国际（HTAi）的网站进行了探索，以确定针对医疗保健专业人员的 HTA 培训计划。此外，我们还筛选了 EUnetHTA 作为其联合行动的一部分并与公私合作伙伴合作在欧洲层面提出的培训计划。在英语和法语、葡萄牙语、西班牙语、意大利语和德语中搜索了特定的关键词。从 2020 年 11 月至 2021 年 2 月，对检索到的培训计划进行了数据提取，并考虑了以下信息：机构、国家、网站、协调员、计划类型、目标、主题、主要内容和语言。
在筛选的 124 个机构/组织/EUnetHTA 公私合作伙伴中，只有 21 个为医疗保健专业人员提供培训计划。共分析了 55 项培训计划，其中 85.5%在欧洲一级提供，14.5%在国际一级提供。课程数量较多的国家有：奥地利、阿根廷、西班牙、葡萄牙和英国。21 项培训计划侧重于 HTA 的应用和方法，34 项培训计划侧重于特定的 HTA 领域，特别是经济领域。涵盖的技术主要是药物。
我们的研究表明，针对医疗保健专业人员的 HTA 培训计划数量有限。HTA 用科学证据支持有关卫生技术使用和应用的决策过程。事实上，在这一领域培训医疗保健专业人员应该是实施循证医疗选择的关键驱动因素，通过 HTA 等严格的方法学方法，以确保适当的卫生治理和基于价值的技术创新在临床实践中的应用。因此，应通过适当和有效的培训计划和教育策略来加强该领域医疗保健专业人员的能力建设。
