Applying Stakeholder Engagement to Effectively Design User Interfaces for an Economic Model in Major Depressive Disorder

OBJECTIVES: As the complexity of health economic models increase, a web-based user interface (UI) can offer a more user-friendly means for less-technical users to directly interact with a model. The Innovation and Value Initiative (IVI) is building an open-source model in major depressive disorder through continual engagement with a 20-member multi-stakeholder advisory group. The objective of this study was to describe how engaging with different stakeholders has informed the final UI design.

METHODS: A draft UI prototype which consisted of a tutorial, 6 screens for users to specify the set-up of the model (e.g., efficacy input), and 4 screens to examine model output (e.g., costs) was first developed based on the economic model specification, a prioritized list of decision scenarios identified by target users and technical infrastructure of the hosting environment. Structured interviews were then conducted with 9 stakeholders representing payers, employers, manufacturers, patients, and researchers in December 2022 and January 2023 to seek feedback on the draft UI. A structured interview guide was developed to elicit feedback on the overall design, user-modifiable inputs and assumptions, and key outputs. Feedback from the stakeholders was synthesized by the project team to inform the final design of the model.

RESULTS: While all stakeholders agreed that an interactive UI made models more accessible for decision-making, they differed in technical knowledge, decision questions to answer, key model inputs/assumptions to vary, and desired model output. Their feedback resulted in customized UI design for including adding clearer definitions technical terms such as utility, featuring output based on decision needs, and providing user-specific manual to navigate the UI.

CONCLUSIONS: Stakeholder engagement is crucial to ensure UI design can be more effectively customized to meet the decision needs and user preference of different stakeholders and lead to potentially higher uptake in using the model to inform decision-making.