ELICIT: An alternative imprecise weight elicitation technique for use in multi-criteria decision analysis for healthcare

Abstract

Objective: In this paper, the readers are introduced to ELICIT, an imprecise weight elicitation technique for multicriteria decision analysis for healthcare. Methods: The application of ELICIT consists of two steps: the rank ordering of evaluation criteria based on decision-makers’ (DMs) preferences using the principal component analysis; and the estimation of criteria weights and their descriptive statistics using the variable interdependent analysis and the Monte Carlo method. The application of ELICIT is illustrated with a hypothetical case study involving the elicitation of weights for five criteria used to select the best device for eye surgery. Results: The criteria were ranked from 1–5, based on a strict preference relationship established by the DMs. For each criterion, the deterministic weight was estimated as well as the standard deviation and 95% credibility interval. Conclusions: ELICIT is appropriate in situations where only ordinal DMs’ preferences are available to elicit decision criteria weights.

Keywords:

• healthcare
• imprecise eight elicitation
• Monte Carlo method
• multi-criteria decision analysis
• principal component analysis
• variable interdependent analysis

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number G12MD007582. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Key issues

• A critical step in the application of most multi-criteria decision analysis methods is the elicitation of the decision-makers’ (DMs) preferences in regard to the evaluation criteria.

• Assigning precise values to scaling coefficients (criteria weights) through the use of cardinal and/or ratio weight elicitation techniques can be challenging and burdensome for some DMs.

• There is a need to develop imprecise weight elicitation techniques to facilitate the application of multi-criteria decision analysis methods.

• ELICIT is an imprecise weight elicitation technique that can prove useful to DMs who experience difficulties when asked to fix precise values to the scaling coefficients of predefined decision criteria.