We asked, you said, we did

We published the draft framework for consumer engagement in Health Technology Assessment and asked you to tell us what you thought. We wanted to understand what you found helpful, what could be clearer, what was missing, and what would make the framework more useful in practice.

We received 80 responses.

Overall, people supported the framework’s aim to strengthen consumer engagement across health technology assessment (HTA). Many welcomed it as a way to build on existing processes and support more consistent, meaningful and transparent engagement.

The framework brings together key elements needed to support good consumer engagement including:

• recognising lived experience as integral to HTA and decision-making
• involving consumers earlier in the HTA process
• communicating more clearly and using plain language
• supporting inclusive participation
• giving consumers better feedback on how their input was used and considered.

The framework could be improved by:

• explaining the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders more clearly
• including practical examples of good consumer engagement
• being more transparent about how consumer input influences HTA decisions
• ensuring consumer engagement is supported with appropriate time and resources
• making opportunities for consumer participation in HTA processes more accessible and inclusive
• using tailored engagement approaches so people from diverse backgrounds and communities, and underrepresented groups can take part in ways that are meaningful, culturally safe and supported.

We also heard that it will be important to measure the impact of consumer engagement over time, including clear measures of success, and regularly reporting on how engagement influences HTA decisions, improves processes and affects consumers who take part.

Many people also wanted clearer information about how the framework will be applied in practice, who will be responsible for taking action, and what tools and resources will be available to help people use it.

We are carefully considering the feedback received.

We will use the feedback to improve the final framework before it is published.

The feedback will also guide future work to strengthen consumer engagement in HTA. This includes developing practical resources to support the use of the framework.