Improving Collaborative Engagement in Health State Valuation: A Scoping Review of Current Practices and Emerging...

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Patient Engagement
• Health State Valuation

Background:

• Collaborative engagement in health research is encouraged by funders but its extent in health state valuation is unknown.
• Major funding bodies advocate for involving stakeholders beyond researchers in health research.
• Understanding current practices is crucial for improving patient-centered outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify best practice recommendations for collaborative engagement in health economics literature.
• To find examples of collaborative engagement in health state valuation studies.
• To compare current practices in valuation studies against established recommendations.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review of eight databases and grey literature was conducted.
• Included studies provided recommendations on collaborative engagement or featured health state valuation with engagement.
• Extracted recommendations were thematically synthesized, and examples were mapped against these recommendations.

Main Results:

• Twenty-two records provided recommendations, and 15 valuation studies were analyzed.
• A 15-item framework of best practice recommendations was synthesized.
• Most studies involved patients/experts in informing health states, but 9/15 recommendations were not applied, and only minimal evidence existed for the others.

Conclusions:

• Collaborative engagement in health state valuation is currently underdeveloped and does not align with existing literature recommendations.
• A 15-point framework is proposed to guide the development of improved practices.
• Further development of guidance is needed to enhance collaborative engagement in health state valuation.