Details descriptions of the session:
In the pursuit of universal health coverage, countries expand health care benefits but are invariably confronted with budget constraints and hence questions about which benefits to add and how to ensure value for money. In selecting priorities, countries should use evidence to inform decisions. Evidence-informed priority setting (EIPS) processes are not merely technical; they also have political, institutional, and organizational dimensions. The ways in which organizations and institutions set, shape, and implement the agenda for priority setting including EIPS and health technology assessment are the focus of a new special issue of Health Systems & Reform on “Building Institutions for Priority Setting in Health,” guest edited by Victoria Fan, Javier Guzman, and Pete Baker with editor-in-chief Michael Reich (Harvard University). The issue will include over 15 articles covering countries across Latin America, Asia, and Africa, including those in the International Decision Support Initiative (iDSI). This proposed workshop for the Priorities 2024 Conference launches this special issue.
The interactive, dynamic workshop session will examine issues cutting across articles. Instead of traditional lectures and presentations, the workshop will be presented as a conversation, podcast style, where the moderators will ask four or five questions on key themes of the special issue. Topics may include organizational design and creation, political considerations, capacity building and training, advocacy and coalition building, incorporation of evidence in process design, and strategic thinking and planning. Panelists, representing diverse institutional and geographical perspectives, will answer questions; audience members can also engage through the use of interactive technology such as Menti. Following the conversation, there will be a small group breakout discussion in which each group chooses a country and examines reform strategies in light of the panel’s key themes and lessons.
Learning objectives and target audience:
- Identify strategic considerations for leaders seeking to build or reform organizations for EIPS
- Understand the importance and the role of politics and organizational development in EIPS
- Build peer networks with panelists and audience members through interactive pedagogy
Target audience are policymakers, academics, and civil society representatives seeking to reform EIPS institutions.
Structure of presentation:
This session begins with a panel conversation (30 mins), followed by a breakout session (45 mins). The panel will be moderated and facilitated by the guest editors. The panelists will be issue authors (e.g., from Kenya, China, Colombia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand, South Africa, Taiwan, and Uruguay). The breakout session will include small group interactive discussion (30 mins), followed by large-group summary (15 mins). Panelists will join small groups to facilitate mentoring and experience sharing.
