[Methods to collect communities' values and preferences about health systems coverage]

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Public Health Policy
• Health Economics

Background:

• Health systems face financial constraints, necessitating prioritization of services.
• Citizen engagement is vital for aligning health resource allocation with public values.
• Effective mechanisms are needed to incorporate public preferences into health coverage decisions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the literature on mechanisms for gathering citizen values and preferences regarding health system coverage.
• To identify existing tools and methods used for citizen participation in health priority setting.
• To assess the availability and standardization of methods for collecting public input on health coverage.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of publications on citizen participation in health coverage decisions.
• Searched databases for articles reporting on mechanisms to gather citizen values/preferences.
• Analyzed 18 full-text articles, including 7 in the final review, from Europe, Australia, and Latin America.

Main Results:

• Identified a limited number of studies (7) detailing tools for capturing citizen values on health coverage.
• Interviews and surveys were the most frequently reported methods for data collection.
• Geographic distribution of studies included Europe (3), Australia (2), and Latin America (2).

Conclusions:

• There is a scarcity of documented tools and examples for incorporating citizen values into health decision-making processes.
• A significant barrier to effective citizen participation is the lack of standardized approaches for collecting community values and preferences.
• Further development and standardization of methods are needed to enhance public involvement in health system priority setting.