Department of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Evidence-Based Medicine Center, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
BMC Med Educ. 2022 Mar 8;22(1):157. doi: 10.1186/s12909-022-03214-z.
Health technology assessment (HTA) has become essential in many countries over the past few years, and the demand for HTA professionals has increased in academia, governments, and industries. This study aimed to examine which courses are most important and which training activities are most helpful for the development of HTA proficiency as perceived by HTA experts.
The survey questionnaire was developed by literature review and expert opinion. Convenience sampling was used to survey HTA experts from the industrial sector, academic/research units, and government/independent assessment organizations using an online survey tool, SurveyCake. We collected respondents' demographic information and asked them to assess the importance of each course included in an HTA program on a 5-point Likert Scale (1 = least important; 5 = highly important). In addition, respondents were asked to assess the extent to which various activities are helpful for HTA proficiency development.
A total of 158 domestic and overseas experts in HTA-related fields were invited to participate in the survey and 68 completed the questionnaire. Among the respondents, the majority were female (57.4%) and working in academia (44.1%). The mean ± standard deviation of respondents' age and number of years spent in HTA-related fields were 43.2 ± 11.0 years and 11.3 ± 9.9 years, respectively. The course that was rated the most important was "Pharmacoeconomics/Cost-effectiveness analysis" with a score of 4.8 ± 0.4 points, followed by "Health economics" at 4.7 ± 0.7 points. Moreover, internships at HTA-related institutions were perceived to be the most helpful training activity for HTA proficiency development.
Our study findings provide a better understanding of the requirements for developing HTA proficiency and can serve as a reference for the modification of current HTA education and training programs.
在过去几年中，卫生技术评估（HTA）在许多国家变得至关重要，对 HTA 专业人员的需求在学术界、政府和行业中都有所增加。本研究旨在探讨 HTA 专家认为哪些课程最重要，以及哪些培训活动对 HTA 能力的发展最有帮助。
通过文献回顾和专家意见制定了调查问卷。采用便利抽样法，使用在线调查工具 SurveyCake，对来自工业部门、学术/研究单位和政府/独立评估组织的 HTA 专家进行调查。我们收集了受访者的人口统计学信息，并要求他们在 5 分制（1=最不重要；5=最重要）上评估 HTA 计划中包含的每门课程的重要性。此外，受访者还被要求评估各种活动对 HTA 能力发展的帮助程度。
共邀请了 158 名国内外 HTA 相关领域的专家参与调查，其中 68 人完成了问卷。在受访者中，大多数为女性（57.4%），从事学术工作（44.1%）。受访者的平均年龄和从事 HTA 相关领域的年限分别为 43.2±11.0 岁和 11.3±9.9 年。评分最高的课程是“药物经济学/成本效益分析”，得分为 4.8±0.4 分，其次是“健康经济学”，得分为 4.7±0.7 分。此外，在 HTA 相关机构的实习被认为是对 HTA 能力发展最有帮助的培训活动。
我们的研究结果更好地了解了发展 HTA 能力的要求，并可为修改当前的 HTA 教育和培训计划提供参考。
