UNDERSTANDING THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE DECISION MAKERS REGARDING THE SUCCESS OF AN EVIDENCE-BASED RESOURCE ALLOCATION PROCESS

Abstract

Evidence-informed priority setting and resource allocation (PSRA) facilitates an economically feasible, ethical and fair allocation of the resources, especially in the context of increasingly constrained resource availability in the healthcare system. However, the factors that hinder or promote the "success" of these new initiatives are yet to be fully understood, complicating the decision making around these initiatives. Hence, the objective of this study was to explore the perspectives of the decision makers at a local heath organization that recently implemented a PSRA process to guide their annual PSRA. Using a recently validated framework, this study investigated the conceptual, procedural and outcome-related dimensions of the PSRA process, and elucidated various organization-specific factors that shape the success of the PSRA initiative. It is anticipated that the findings from this study will provide decision makers with concrete evidence while devising the policies aimed at allocating limited resources in an evidence-informed manner.