Strategies for training laypeople to participate in health technology assessment: a scoping review protocol

The objective of this study is to map the strategies that health technology assessment agencies use worldwide to educate laypeople about health technology assessment (HTA). The engagement of patients and the general public in the processes of HTA has garnered escalating support and endorsement from international networks of HTA agencies. Nonetheless, integrating the broader community into HTA procedures poses a multifaceted challenge. In order to render such participation efficacious, it is imperative to allocate substantial resources towards the dissemination of information and the educational empowerment of the community with respect to HTA. Furthermore, it is essential to furnish comprehensive training initiatives aimed at capacitating individuals to actively partake in the intricate web of HTA processes. This scoping review will consider studies addressing educative strategies to train laypeople on HTA. Additionally mapping and summarizing relevant methodological papers from any international HTA Agency regarding training laypeople to participate in HTA processes. Four databases will be searched for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods study designs. The gray literature search will include policy and practice documents from HTA and health organization websites. Two reviewers will independently complete title and abstract screening prior to the full-text review and data extraction.