RIGHT: A toolkit for selecting healthcare modelling methods

Abstract

A project to take simulation and modelling techniques to healthcare practitioners in the form of a ‘selection tool’ is reported. We describe the processes by which a tool to enable decision-makers to select appropriate methods has been conceived, prototyped, and taken to a variety of users. Findings are drawn from a variety of sources including the internal discussion among the teams from the five collaborating universities, the observational findings as healthcare practitioner users set about using the tool and the results of internal conferences with stakeholders. While the project to produce a robust and reliable tool requires considerably more time and resource, the preliminary findings indicate that there is still a robust discussion over which methods to include on the menu list of such a tool, and that there is an appetite for an accessible introduction to modelling methods. Moreover, it appears that different stakeholders are looking to specify their problem in different ways. Nonetheless, there is evidence of an emerging interest in using such tools more widely and routinely.

Keywords:

• toolkits
• healthcare modelling and modelling methods

Acknowledgements

This work was partly supported by the EPSRC, UK (RIGHT project, Grant No: EP/E019900/1; http://www.right.org.uk). In addition, we like to acknowledge the people who participated in building the RIGHT selection toolkit and workbook of simulation & modelling methods (including Professor Sally Brailsford, Professor John Clarkson, Professor Con Connell, Professor Paul Harper, Dr Gyuchan Thomas Jun, Dr Jonathan H. Klein, Professor Sally McClean, Dr Brijesh Patel, and Dr Lampros Stergioulas). We also like to acknowledge Claire Picton (Hillingdon Hospital) for her useful comments.