Addressing Challenges in Health Technology Assessment Institutionalization for Furtherance of Universal Health Coverage Through South-South Knowledge Exchange: Lessons From Bhutan, Kenya, Thailand, and Zambia

Abstract

Health Technology Assessment (HTA), a tool for priority setting, has emerged as a means of ensuring the sustainability of a Universal Health Coverage (UHC) system. However, setting up an effective HTA system poses multiple challenges and knowledge exchange can play a crucial role in helping countries achieve their UHC targets. This article reports the results of the discussion during a preconference session at the 2019 HTAsiaLink Conference, an annual gathering of HTA agencies in Asia, which supports knowledge transfer and exchange among HTA practitioners. As part of this discourse, 3 main HTA challenges were identified based on experiences of selected countries in Asia and Africa, namely Bhutan, Kenya, Thailand, and Zambia: availability of funding, building technical capacity, and achieving buy-in among stakeholders for successful translation of HTA research into UHC policy. The potential solutions identified through this South-South engagement included establishing a legal mandate for HTA, building local technical capacity through partnerships and enhancing strategic communication with stakeholders to increase awareness, among others. South-South Knowledge Exchange can therefore be instrumental in sharing lessons learned from common challenges and offer potential solutions to address capacity building initiatives for HTA in LMICs.

Cost-Effectiveness of Population Screening Programs for Cardiovascular Diseases and Diabetes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review

“…With a decline in donor funding due to the global recession ( 58 , 59 ), governments should earmark funds for research in priority setting in health, including preventive programs such as screening to guide investments and ensure the sustainability of universal health coverage programs. There is also a need for strategic investments to build the capacity of both users (policymakers and high-level managers) and suppliers (academics, research organizations) of health technology assessments to ensure the agenda for priority setting is locally driven ( 45 , 46 , 60 , 61 ).…”

Avoiding health technology assessment: a global survey of reasons for not using health technology assessment in decision making

“…On-the-job training has been catalytical for many countries in building HTA capacity in Southeast Asia. Networks form an important element of connecting researchers with one-another and institutional arrangements to attract and retain staff trained in HTA is another area that needs to be considered [ 24 ]. Online resources such as the Guide to Health Economic Analysis and Research (GEAR) also offer researchers in LMICs to connect with global experts in the field [ 25 ].…”

Research Knowledge Translation Activities in Africa; An Outlook of the Opportunities and Obstacles

“…According to this framework, Knowledge creation, or the production of knowledge, is composed of; knowledge inquiry, synthesis of knowledge and creation of knowledge tools. As knowledge is distilled through each stage in the knowledge creation process, the resulting knowledge becomes more synthesized and potentially more useful to end-users (24).…”

“…The interactive-recursive model of knowledge transfer can serve as a basis for the identification and analysis of potential transfer barriers. Based on the assumptions that first; research projects lead to positive results respectively solutions are found for previously defined problems, and secondly; the existence of these solutions is known to a circle of potential knowledge-takers, barriers of knowledge transfer (24). Study done by Dagenais, C. (2021) in Burkina Faso to determine research use at the Ministry of Health (MoH) revealed that apart from the sometimes unwillingness to support research, the main obstacles identified were; the difficulties of accessing research results, the insufficiency in dissemination and lack of action plans to apply those results were rarely proposed in the findings (22); Given that "we can't use what we don't know exists," the issue of access to research results is fundamental, and such access must be timely.…”