OBJECTIVES: The study set out to elicit preferences for health technology assessment (HTA) criteria in Kenya using two Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) methods; Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE).

METHODS: AHP and DCE were used to elicit preferences of Kenyan stakeholders in HTA as part of an MCDA study. The targeted stakeholders included policymakers/purchasers, providers, academics/researchers, patients, and the public (community-based organisations and non-governmental organisations). AHP was conducted in a one-day workshop with 23 stakeholders using expert choice software, while Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) technique was used to administer the DCE to 272 stakeholders. The same HTA criteria were used for both exercises, namely, burden of disease, congruence with existing priorities, effectiveness of intervention, equity, and health systems capacity.

RESULTS: In AHP, burden of disease was the most important criterion (36.39%) followed by effectiveness of intervention (23.89%), and health systems capacity (17.98%). Congruence with existing priorities was the least important criterion (8.50%). Across, the five stakeholder groups, burden of disease was the most important criterion except among the public, where effectiveness of intervention was the most important. Congruence with existing priorities was the least important across the stakeholder groups except providers, where equity was the least important.

The relative importance estimates from the DCE showed that burden of disease was the most important criterion. Effectiveness of intervention was second, equity third, followed by congruence with existing priorities and health systems capacity. Across the stakeholder groups, burden of disease and effectiveness of intervention were the two highest ranked criteria in terms of relative importance. Health systems capacity was the lowest ranked criterion, except among policymakers where it was ranked third.

CONCLUSIONS: The two methods showed that burden of disease and effectiveness of intervention were the two most important criteria for HTA in Kenya.