Identifying priority review questions for Cochrane Eyes and Vision: protocol for a priority setting exercise

IntroductionCochrane Eyes and Vision (CEV) is an international network of individuals working to prepare, maintain and promote access to systematic reviews of interventions to treat, prevent or diagnose eye diseases or vision impairment. CEV plans to undertake a priority setting exercise to identify systematically research questions relevant to our scope, and to formally incorporate input from a wide range of stakeholders to set priorities for new and updated reviews.Methods and analysisThe scope of CEV is broad and our reviews include conditions that are common and have a high global disease burden, for example, cataract and dry eye disease, and conditions that are rare but have a high impact on quality of life and high individual cost such as eye cancer. We plan to focus on conditions prioritised by WHO during the development of the Package of Eye Care Interventions. These conditions were selected based on a combination of data on disease magnitude, healthcare use and expert opinion. We will identify priority review questions systematically by summarising relevant data on research in Eyes and Vision from a range of sources, and compiling a list of 10–15 potential review questions (new and/or updates) for each condition group. We will seek the views of external and internal stakeholders on this list by conducting an online survey. Equity will be a specific consideration.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been approved by the ethics committee of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. We will disseminate the findings through Cochrane channels and prepare a summary of the work for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Research Priorities for Coastal Geoscience and Engineering: A Collaborative Exercise in Priority Setting From Australia

We present the result of a collaborative priority setting exercise to identify emerging issues and priorities in coastal geoscience and engineering (CGE). We use a ranking process to quantify the criticality of each priority from the perspective of Australian CGE researchers and practitioners. 74 activities were identified across seven categories: Data Collection and Collation, Coastal Dynamics and Processes, Modelling, Engineering Solutions, Coastal Hazards and Climate Change, Communication and Collaboration, and Infrastructure, Innovation, and Funding. We found consistent and unanimous support for the vast majority of priorities identified by the CGE community, with 91% of priorities being allocated a score of ≥ 3 out of 5 (i.e., above average levels of support) by ≥ 75% of respondents. Data Collection and Collation priorities received the highest average score, significantly higher than four of the other six categories, with Coastal Hazards and Climate Change the second ranked category and Engineering Solutions the lowest scoring category. Of the 74 priorities identified, 11 received unified and strong support across the CGE community and indicate a critical need for: additional coastal data collection including topographic and bathymetric, hydrodynamic, oceanographic, and remotely sensed data; improved data compilation and access; improved understanding of extreme events and the quantification of future impacts of climate change on nearshore dynamics and coastal development; enhanced quantification of shoreline change and coastal inundation processes; and, additional funding to support CGE research and applications to mitigate and manage coastal hazards. The outcomes of this priority setting exercise can be applied to guide policy development and decision-making in Australia and jurisdictions elsewhere. Further, the research and application needs identified here will contribute to addressing key practical challenges identified at a national level. CGE research plays a critical role in identifying and enabling social, environmental, and economic benefits through the proactive management of coastal hazard impacts and informed planning to mitigate the potential impacts of growing coastal risk, particularly in a changing climate. The prevalence and commonalities of the challenges faced by coastal communities globally due to increasing pressures from coastal hazards in a changing climate suggest that our findings will be applicable to other settings.

Setting priorities in healthcare institutions: The case of McGill University Health Centre

Priority setting is a decision-making process concerning the distribution of resources. The imbalance between allocated resources and public demand for health services as well as the inherent complexity of healthcare institutions are making priority setting one of the most challenging health management issues. Nevertheless, the priority setting processes and policymaking have not been studied very much at the hospital strategic planning level, i.e., the prioritisation of clinical activities. The purpose of this paper is to provide an evidence based case for improving the priority setting process in large hospitals. In a qualitative case study carried out at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), a priority setting exercise is described and the process is assessed in line with an accountability for reasonableness framework. Data collection involved in-depth, one-on-one interviews with key participants, review of key documents, and in-field observation. To assess the priority setting exercise, this paper compares the priority setting process against the five conditions of accountability for reasonableness, and identifies good practices and opportunities for improvement.