Research priority setting in XXXX : a systematic review.

@entity1 @entity8 @entity740 @entity810
BACKGROUND: Resources for research are insufficient to cover all unanswered questions, and therefore difficult choices about allocation must be made. Recently there has been a move toward more @entity1 -centered research. This study aims to evaluate approaches to research prioritization in @entity8 and describe research priorities of @entity1 with @entity8 , their caregivers, the health care providers involved in their care, and policy makers. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review. SETTING _ POPULATION: Studies that elicited @entity1 , caregiver, health care provider, or policy maker priorities for research in @entity8 were included. SEARCH STRATEGY _ SOURCES: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were searched to May 2014. ANALYTICAL APPROACH: Descriptive synthesis. RESULTS: We identified 16 studies (n=2,365 @entity1 ) conducted in the United States, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, and internationally. Only 4 (25%) studies explicitly involved @entity1 . Various priority-setting methods were used, including the Delphi technique, expert panels, consensus conference, ranking or voting surveys, focus groups, and interviews, of which the process was described in detail by 11 (69%) studies. The priority areas for research most frequently identified across studies were prevention of @entity810 , prevention of @entity740 progression, fluid and diet restrictions, improving vascular access, kidney transplant survival, access to transplantation, @entity1 education, and @entity740 . LIMITATIONS: Most studies were conducted in high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: The priorities identified by @entity8 research priority-setting exercises are broad ranging, but @entity1 involvement is uncommon and the processes often are incompletely described. Establishing research priorities using a prespecified and transparent process that engages @entity1 , caregivers, and health care providers is needed to ensure that resources are invested to answer questions that address the shared priorities in @entity8 .
