Adaptive Health Technology Assessment: A Scoping Review of Methods.

OBJECTIVES: Health technology assessment (HTA) is an established mechanism for explicit priority setting to support universal health coverage. However, full HTA requires significant time, data, and capacity for each intervention, which limits the number of decisions it can inform. Another approach systematically adapts full HTA methods by leveraging HTA evidence from other settings. We call this "adaptive" HTA (aHTA), although in settings where time is the main constraint, it is also called "rapid HTA." METHODS: The objectives of this scoping review were to identify and map existing aHTA methods, and to assess their triggers, strengths, and weaknesses. This was done by searching HTA agencies' and networks' websites, and the published literature. Findings have been narratively synthesized. RESULTS: This review identified 20 countries and 1 HTA network with aHTA methods in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and South-East Asia. These methods have been characterized into 5 types: rapid reviews, rapid cost-effectiveness analyses, rapid manufacturer submissions, transfers, and de facto HTA. Three characteristics "trigger" the use of aHTA instead of full HTA: urgency, certainty, and low budget impact. Sometimes, an iterative approach to selecting methods guides whether to do aHTA or full HTA. aHTA was found to be faster and more efficient, useful for decision makers, and to reduce duplication. Nevertheless, there is limited standardization, transparency, and measurement of uncertainty. CONCLUSIONS: aHTA is used in many settings. It has potential to improve the efficiency of any priority-setting system, but needs to be better formalized to improve uptake, particularly for nascent HTA systems.

The effectiveness of national-level containment and closure policies across income levels during the COVID-19 pandemic: an analysis of 113 countries.

Despite heterogeneity in income levels, countries implemented similarly strict containment and closure policies to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic. This research assesses the effectiveness of these containment and closure policies, which we defined as larger decreases in mobility and smaller COVID-19 case and death growth rates. Using daily data for 113 countries on mobility and cumulative COVID-19 case and death counts over the 130 days between February 15, 2020 and June 23, 2020, we examined changes in mobility, morbidity, and mortality growth rates across the World Bank's income group classifications. Containment policies correlated with the largest declines in mobility in higher income countries. High-income countries also achieved lower COVID-19 case and death growth rates than low-income countries. This study finds better epidemiological outcomes of containment and closure policies for higher income countries than lower income countries. These findings urge policymakers to consider contextual differences, including levels of economic activity and the structure of the economy, when crafting policies in response to public health emergencies.