Approaches to enabling rapid evaluation of innovations in health and social care: a scoping review of evidence from high-income countries

Objective The COVID-19 pandemic increased the demand for rapid evaluation of innovation in health and social care. Assessment of rapid methodologies is lacking although challenges in ensuring rigour and effective use of resources are known. We mapped reports of rapid evaluations of health and social...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Peter Bower, Jo C Dumville, Thomas Mason, Nicky Cullum, Paul Wilson, Gill Norman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2022-12-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/12/e064345.full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849324298442899456
author Peter Bower
Jo C Dumville
Thomas Mason
Nicky Cullum
Paul Wilson
Gill Norman
author_facet Peter Bower
Jo C Dumville
Thomas Mason
Nicky Cullum
Paul Wilson
Gill Norman
author_sort Peter Bower
collection DOAJ
description Objective The COVID-19 pandemic increased the demand for rapid evaluation of innovation in health and social care. Assessment of rapid methodologies is lacking although challenges in ensuring rigour and effective use of resources are known. We mapped reports of rapid evaluations of health and social care innovations, categorised different approaches to rapid evaluation, explored comparative benefits of rapid evaluation, and identified knowledge gaps.Design Scoping review.Data sources MEDLINE, EMBASE and Health Management Information Consortium (HMIC) databases were searched through 13 September 2022.Eligibility criteria for selecting studies We included publications reporting primary research or methods for rapid evaluation of interventions or services in health and social care in high-income countries.Data extraction and synthesis Two reviewers developed and piloted a data extraction form. One reviewer extracted data, a second reviewer checked 10% of the studies; disagreements and uncertainty were resolved through consensus. We used narrative synthesis to map different approaches to conducting rapid evaluation.Results We identified 16 759 records and included 162 which met inclusion criteria.We identified four main approaches for rapid evaluation: (1) Using methodology designed specifically for rapid evaluation; (2) Increasing rapidity by doing less or using less time-intensive methodology; (3) Using alternative technologies and/or data to increase speed of existing evaluation method; (4) Adapting part of non-rapid evaluation.The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an increase in publications and some limited changes in identified methods. We found little research comparing rapid and non-rapid evaluation.Conclusions We found a lack of clarity about what ‘rapid evaluation’ means but identified some useful preliminary categories. There is a need for clarity and consistency about what constitutes rapid evaluation; consistent terminology in reporting evaluations as rapid; development of specific methodologies for making evaluation more rapid; and assessment of advantages and disadvantages of rapid methodology in terms of rigour, cost and impact.
format Article
id doaj-art-342ba8e8c39a4e77b470924f1e90281b
institution Kabale University
issn 2044-6055
language English
publishDate 2022-12-01
publisher BMJ Publishing Group
record_format Article
series BMJ Open
spelling doaj-art-342ba8e8c39a4e77b470924f1e90281b2025-08-20T03:48:46ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552022-12-01121210.1136/bmjopen-2022-064345Approaches to enabling rapid evaluation of innovations in health and social care: a scoping review of evidence from high-income countriesPeter Bower0Jo C Dumville1Thomas Mason2Nicky Cullum3Paul Wilson4Gill Norman51NIHR Greater Manchester Primary Care Patient Safety Translational Research Centre, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, UKDivision of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, School of Health Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UKDivision of Health Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UKManchester Academic Health Science Centre, Research and Innovation Division, Manchester University Foundation NHS Trust, Manchester, UK1 Centre for Primary Care and Health Services Research, University of Manchester, Manchester, UKNewcastle University, Newcastle, UKObjective The COVID-19 pandemic increased the demand for rapid evaluation of innovation in health and social care. Assessment of rapid methodologies is lacking although challenges in ensuring rigour and effective use of resources are known. We mapped reports of rapid evaluations of health and social care innovations, categorised different approaches to rapid evaluation, explored comparative benefits of rapid evaluation, and identified knowledge gaps.Design Scoping review.Data sources MEDLINE, EMBASE and Health Management Information Consortium (HMIC) databases were searched through 13 September 2022.Eligibility criteria for selecting studies We included publications reporting primary research or methods for rapid evaluation of interventions or services in health and social care in high-income countries.Data extraction and synthesis Two reviewers developed and piloted a data extraction form. One reviewer extracted data, a second reviewer checked 10% of the studies; disagreements and uncertainty were resolved through consensus. We used narrative synthesis to map different approaches to conducting rapid evaluation.Results We identified 16 759 records and included 162 which met inclusion criteria.We identified four main approaches for rapid evaluation: (1) Using methodology designed specifically for rapid evaluation; (2) Increasing rapidity by doing less or using less time-intensive methodology; (3) Using alternative technologies and/or data to increase speed of existing evaluation method; (4) Adapting part of non-rapid evaluation.The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an increase in publications and some limited changes in identified methods. We found little research comparing rapid and non-rapid evaluation.Conclusions We found a lack of clarity about what ‘rapid evaluation’ means but identified some useful preliminary categories. There is a need for clarity and consistency about what constitutes rapid evaluation; consistent terminology in reporting evaluations as rapid; development of specific methodologies for making evaluation more rapid; and assessment of advantages and disadvantages of rapid methodology in terms of rigour, cost and impact.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/12/e064345.full
spellingShingle Peter Bower
Jo C Dumville
Thomas Mason
Nicky Cullum
Paul Wilson
Gill Norman
Approaches to enabling rapid evaluation of innovations in health and social care: a scoping review of evidence from high-income countries
BMJ Open
title Approaches to enabling rapid evaluation of innovations in health and social care: a scoping review of evidence from high-income countries
title_full Approaches to enabling rapid evaluation of innovations in health and social care: a scoping review of evidence from high-income countries
title_fullStr Approaches to enabling rapid evaluation of innovations in health and social care: a scoping review of evidence from high-income countries
title_full_unstemmed Approaches to enabling rapid evaluation of innovations in health and social care: a scoping review of evidence from high-income countries
title_short Approaches to enabling rapid evaluation of innovations in health and social care: a scoping review of evidence from high-income countries
title_sort approaches to enabling rapid evaluation of innovations in health and social care a scoping review of evidence from high income countries
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/12/e064345.full
work_keys_str_mv AT peterbower approachestoenablingrapidevaluationofinnovationsinhealthandsocialcareascopingreviewofevidencefromhighincomecountries
AT jocdumville approachestoenablingrapidevaluationofinnovationsinhealthandsocialcareascopingreviewofevidencefromhighincomecountries
AT thomasmason approachestoenablingrapidevaluationofinnovationsinhealthandsocialcareascopingreviewofevidencefromhighincomecountries
AT nickycullum approachestoenablingrapidevaluationofinnovationsinhealthandsocialcareascopingreviewofevidencefromhighincomecountries
AT paulwilson approachestoenablingrapidevaluationofinnovationsinhealthandsocialcareascopingreviewofevidencefromhighincomecountries
AT gillnorman approachestoenablingrapidevaluationofinnovationsinhealthandsocialcareascopingreviewofevidencefromhighincomecountries