A CONSULTATION GUIDE FOR ASSESSING THE APPLICABILITY OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES:A CASE STUDY.

Objectives: The translation of research findings into policy and practice is crucially dependent on the applicability of such findings in a given decision-making context. We explored in a case study whether a generic consultation guide to assess the applicability of a health technology could be rapidly deployed and deliver useful insights.

Methods: A consultation guide based on the context and implementation for complex interventions (CICI) framework was developed and piloted to assess the applicability of reinforced home-based palliative care in three European countries.

STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT THROUGHOUT HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT: AN EXAMPLE FROM PALLIATIVE CARE.

Objectives: Internationally, funders require stakeholder involvement throughout health technology assessment (HTA). We report successes, challenges, and lessons learned from extensive stakeholder involvement throughout a palliative care case study that demonstrates new concepts and methods for HTA.

Methods: A 5-step "INTEGRATE-HTA Model" developed within the INTEGRATE-HTA project guided the case study.

AN INTEGRATED PERSPECTIVE ON THE ASSESSMENT OF TECHNOLOGIES: INTEGRATE-HTA.

Objectives: Current health technology assessment (HTA) is not well equipped to assess complex technologies as insufficient attention is being paid to the diversity in patient characteristics and preferences, context, and implementation. Strategies to integrate these and several other aspects, such as ethical considerations, in a comprehensive assessment are missing. The aim of the European research project INTEGRATE-HTA was to develop a model for an integrated HTA of complex technologies.

Towards a taxonomy of logic models in systematic reviews and health technology assessments: A priori, staged, and iterative approaches.

The complexity associated with how interventions result-or fail to result-in outcomes and how context matters is increasingly recognised. Logic models provide an important tool for handling complexity, with contrasting uses in programme evaluation and evidence synthesis. To reconcile these, we developed an approach that combines the strengths of both traditions, propose a taxonomy of logic models, and provide guidance on how to choose between approaches and types of logic models in systematic reviews and health technology assessments (HTA).

Examining the role of patient values in decisions about long-term enteral feeding: A qualitative study.

Background & Aims: Although studies demonstrate the range of impacts of home enteral feeding (HEF) on patients' lives, a dearth of evidence focussing on the decision to have a gastrostomy placed exists. The importance of taking account of patient values (i.e.

What do we know about different models of providing palliative care? Findings from a systematic review of reviews.

Background: A wide range of organisational models of palliative care exist. However, decision makers need more information about which models are likely to be most effective in different settings and for different patient groups.

Aim: To identify the existing range of models of palliative care that have been evaluated, what is already known and what further information is essential if the most effective and cost-effective models are to be identified and replicated more widely.

Making sense of complexity in context and implementation: the Context and Implementation of Complex Interventions (CICI) framework.

Background: The effectiveness of complex interventions, as well as their success in reaching relevant populations, is critically influenced by their implementation in a given context. Current conceptual frameworks often fail to address context and implementation in an integrated way and, where addressed, they tend to focus on organisational context and are mostly concerned with specific health fields. Our objective was to develop a framework to facilitate the structured and comprehensive conceptualisation and assessment of context and implementation of complex interventions.

Series: Clinical Epidemiology in South Africa. Paper 3: Logic models help make sense of complexity in systematic reviews and health technology assessments.

Objective: To describe the development and application of logic model templates for systematic reviews and health technology assessments (HTAs) of complex interventions.

Study Design And Setting: This study demonstrates the development of a method to conceptualize complexity and make underlying assumptions transparent. Examples from systematic reviews with specific relevance to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) illustrate its usefulness.

Lay and professional stakeholder involvement in scoping palliative care issues: Methods used in seven European countries.

Background: Stakeholders are people with an interest in a topic. Internationally, stakeholder involvement in palliative care research and health technology assessment requires development. Stakeholder involvement adds value throughout research (from prioritising topics to disseminating findings).

Evaluating public involvement in research design and grant development: Using a qualitative document analysis method to analyse an award scheme for researchers.

Plain English Summary: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research Design Service (RDS) for Yorkshire and Humber has been running a public involvement funding scheme since 2008. This scheme awards researchers a small amount of money to help them get involvement from patients and/or the public. Involvement activities take place at the time when researchers are planning studies, and when they are completing application forms to request funding for a proposed research project.

Ethical analysis in HTA of complex health interventions.

Background: In the field of health technology assessment (HTA), there are several approaches that can be used for ethical analysis. However, there is a scarcity of literature that critically evaluates and compares the strength and weaknesses of these approaches when they are applied in practice. In this paper, we analyse the applicability of some selected approaches for addressing ethical issues in HTA in the field of complex health interventions.

Approaches to capturing the financial cost of family care-giving within a palliative care context: a systematic review.

The economic burden faced by family caregivers of people at the end of life is well recognised. Financial burden has a significant impact on the provision of family care-giving in the community setting, but has seen limited research attention. A systematic review with realist review synthesis and thematic analysis was undertaken to identify literature relating to the financial costs and impact of family care-giving at the end of life.

Exploring the financial impact of caring for family members receiving palliative and end-of-life care: a systematic review of the literature.

Background: Research regarding the economic dimensions of palliative care is relatively limited. The economic implications of providing informal care are well recognised; however, within the context of palliative care, little is known about the costs and implications of providing care for a loved one at the end of life.

Aim: To explore the financial costs and the financial impact of caring for family members receiving palliative/end-of-life care.

The hospital environment for end of life care of older adults and their families: an integrative review.

Aim:   This article is a report of an integrative review to identify key elements of the physical hospital environment for end of life care of older adults and their families as reported by patients, relatives, staff and policy makers.

Background:   Globally ageing populations and increases in long-term illness mean that more people will need palliative care in the future. Despite policy initiatives to increase end of life care in the community, many older adults prefer, and will require, end of life care in hospital.

Exploring health professionals' views regarding the optimum physical environment for palliative and end of life care in the acute hospital setting: a qualitative study.

Background: Limited evidence exists relating to key elements of the optimum physical hospital environment for patients receiving palliative and end of life care in acute hospitals. The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of health professionals regarding the optimum physical environment for palliative and end of life care in the acute hospital setting.

Methods: Qualitative focus group study with 24 health professionals from an acute hospital, a community hospital and a hospice.

Palliative care for all? A review of the evidence in community hospitals.

The provision of palliative care in the UK has traditionally focused on people with cancer. People who are elderly, live in rural areas or have diagnoses other than cancer often have difficulty accessing palliative care services. Community hospitals could be important for those groups currently under-served.

Interventions for adult family carers of people who have had a stroke: a systematic review.

Objective: A systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions for adult family carers of people with stroke, and an exploratory examination of the relationship between the conceptual basis of these interventions and their effectiveness.

Data Sources: Seventeen electronic databases and grey literature sources were searched, including ASSIA, BNI, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Social Science Citation Index and the Science Citation Index, HMIC and the National Research Register. Authors of unpublished material were contacted for data and additional publications.

'Seeking': a key activity for new family carers of stroke survivors.

Stroke is one of the major causes of disability in the United Kingdom and considerable numbers of stroke survivors need help and support from family carers. The sudden and unexpected nature of stroke means that there is very little time for family members to prepare for a caring role. This paper draws on data from 37 interviews with 14 new carers of stroke survivors and highlights the uncertainty and lack of confidence that family members experience in adopting a caring role.

Letters.

HYDROGELS AND FOAM DRESSINGS IN COMBINATION CONTROLLING BLEEDING IN FUNGATING WOUNDS HYDROSTATIC LEG ULCERS COMMUNITY LEG ULCER CLINICS.