Review of health technology assessment skills development program
Wanke M
Record ID 32004000312
English
Authors' objectives:
The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Unit of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) provides a six-month professional development opportunity for individuals interested in learning about health technology assessment methods. Through the Skills Development Program, participants strive to develop a solid understanding of health technology assessment and how it can be used to guide policy and decision-makers.
The Program has been in operation since 1996 and the HTA Unit considers it timely to undertake a review of the program with the purpose of: - Describing and assessing the current program, including learning from the experiences of the program participants; - Further formalizing the program, based on identi. ed opportunities for improvement; and - Establishing or enhancing collaborative linkages with other related agencies or programs.
This report presents an assessment of the HTA Skills Development Program from the perspectives of program participants, AHFMR representatives and other individuals with exposure to the program. The report also includes a description and comparison of the program with similar programs offered by other health technology assessment organizations internationally.
Authors' recommendations:
The program is successful and valued. Its mandate to develop HTA skills as complementary to academic preparation in the topic area is its main strength and represents a relatively unique niche in Canada. Participants are highly positive about their experience and offer only minor suggestions for improvement.
AHFMR's HTA Skills Development Program, while not unique to Alberta, may be described as one of the most structured and experienced of the HTA agencies studied.
Reports from those interviewed suggest that the work undertaken by program participants has a potential for broad influence, including impact on provincial and regional health authority funding decisions, influence through publications and presentations arising from the work, and knowledge transfer within the participants' disciplines and employment settings.
The main opportunities are: - Differentiating the program into two streams according to different needs of participants, specifically between those who desire to become HTA producers and/or make HTA their careers, and those who desire to apply HTA in their employment capacity as policy or clinical decision-makers. The former are likely to be attracted from the international community and seek work in an academic environment or HTA agency. The latter are most likely to be from Alberta or Canada and work in government, regional health authorities, health care organizations or clinical practice.
- Further formalizing the program processes in accordance with the two streams.
- Strengthening and formalizing collaborative opportunities with academic institutions delivering HTA or related post-secondary programs.
- Exploring the need for and feasibility of fostering HTA skills development in Alberta's regional health authorities, perhaps as a joint program offering with Swift Efficient Application of Research in Community Health (SEARCH).
Authors' methods:
Programme assessment
Details
Project Status:
Completed
Year Published:
2003
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Not Assigned
Country:
Canada
MeSH Terms
- Education
- Education, Professional
- Technology Assessment, Biomedical
Contact
Organisation Name:
Institute of Health Economics
Contact Address:
1200, 10405 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T5J 3N4. Tel: +1 780 448 4881; Fax: +1 780 448 0018;
Contact Name:
djuzwishin@ihe.ca
Contact Email:
djuzwishin@ihe.ca
Copyright:
<p>Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR)</p>