Table 3.

Extraction form for principles for HTA activities in SSA

Author(s)	Mathew	Abaza and Tawfik	Hutubessy et al.	Miot et al.	Govender et al.	Ueffing et al.
Study name	KNOW ESSENTIALS: A tool for informed decisions in the absence of formal HTA systems	Appropriate medical technologies for developing countries: application to cardiovascular disorders	Generalized cost-effectiveness analysis for national-level priority-setting in the health sector	Field testing of a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework for coverage of a screening test for cervical cancer in South Africa	Purchasing of medical equipment in public hospitals: the mini-HTA tool	Equity-oriented toolkit for health technology assessment and knowledge translation: application to scaling up of training and education for health workers
Ease of training	Yes, it is an easy to use tool with clear guidelines and criteria	Yes, it is an easy to use tool with clear instructions and would require little training	No, special training required	Yes, not a difficult approach	Yes, the mini-HTA tool is easy to use and the questions on the form are clear	Yes, not a difficult approach
Is the evidence collection requirement flexible?	Yes, it allows the use of less systematic evidence gathering with justification	Yes, all evidence in the form of data about medical devices is provided	Yes, data to assess the effectiveness of a medical technology not only come from reviews of evidence, but population surveys and expert opinion	Yes, available data in local context is used to customize framework	Yes, available data in the local context is used	No, only mentions sources such as The Cochrane Library and it is unclear if all other sources are considered
Is approach or tool economical?	Yes, does not require expensive equipment or services	Yes, user would only need a computer and the software	Yes, does not require expensive equipment or services	Yes, does not require expensive equipment or services	Yes, tool only comprises of one form and not expensive equipment or services are required	Yes, does not require expensive equipment or services
Does approach or tool address local context, including political framework?	Yes, it considers the local context throughout its process	No, the tool itself does not consider the local context	Yes, modifications according to local context is recommended by approach	Yes, HTA report is tailored to reflect local context	Yes, it is flexible and adapted to fit the local context	Yes, involves stakeholders in the process which bring in a contextual perspective
Considerations	Does not include an explicit priority setting system. However, this tool is used to assess specific health technologies so it is further down in the HTA process. Evidence has the potential of not being very robust	Economical standing of this tool is dependent on the price of the decision making assistance software	Economical standing of this approach is dependent of amount of special training needed		The mini-HTA tool is a fast tool; however, it is not very comprehensive and only vaguely addresses the principles that it proposes. In addition, one of its limitations is that it is only applied in the context of hospital settings