Overview
Ukraine has institutionalised Health Technology Assessment (HTA) within its legislative framework, with the State Expert Centre (SEC) of the Ministry of Health responsible for conducting HTAs and supporting reimbursement and formulary decisions. As HTA was formally embedded only recently, sustainable capacity building became a national priority.
We co-led the design and implementation of a comprehensive HTA training programme aimed at strengthening the skills of HTA doers, users and trainers. The initiative focused on building long-term institutional capacity to support transparent, evidence-informed reimbursement and benefit package decisions.
Context & Objectives
Following the formal legalisation of HTA in 2020, Ukrainian stakeholders expressed the need for a structured and comprehensive training programme to consolidate national HTA capacity. While earlier awareness-raising efforts had taken place, gaps remained in comparative effectiveness analysis, health economics, qualitative evidence synthesis, ethical analysis, and patient and public involvement.
The objective was not only to train individual analysts, but to strengthen capacity at three levels:
- Individual (HTA doers and users)
- Organisational (institutional processes within SEC and Ministry of Health)
- System-level (long-term sustainability through training-of-trainers)
The programme aimed to create a self-sustaining national ecosystem for HTA embedded within formal governance structures.
Approach & Methods Used
- Training needs assessment
Survey of 40 HTA stakeholders (83% response rate) to identify knowledge and skill gaps. - Development of a module training programme based on the identified needs (160 hours)
- Introduction to HTA
- Comparative effectiveness
- Cost-effectiveness and budget impact analysis
- Qualitative evidence synthesis
- Ethical and broader HTA domains
- Active learning design
Combination of lectures, practical exercises, self-study and applied assignments. - Evaluation of learning gains
Pre- and post-module self-assessed confidence measurements showed consistent improvement across modules. - Train-the-trainer programme
Twelve Ukrainian HTA professionals were trained to deliver future modules, strengthening sustainability and institutionalisation.
Outcomes
- 75 participants completed modules of the programme.
- Improved learnings were identified across all components of the training.
- Strong uptake of introductory HTA training among future trainers.
- Capacity building must be phased and differentiated (users vs doers).
- Long-term sustainability requires institutional embedding within universities and national governance structures.
The experience demonstrates how tailored, competency-based HTA training can support sustainable institutionalisation of HTA in transition settings.
Collaborating Partners
Our work in Ukraine has been done in collaboration with the HTA department of the State Expert Center of the Ministry of Health in Ukraine.
Key partners who have supported this work include:
- Management Sciences for Health
- Project Safe
- Affordable
- Effective Medicines for Ukrainians