Setting priorities for the evaluation of health interventions: when theory does not meet practice

Priority setting is a key component of the process of evaluating health interventions. This has traditionally been an informal process led by power and influence, but a number of explicit criteria and systematic models have been developed since the late 1980s. This paper presents a review and appraisal of these conceptual models and examines how they have influenced the practice of priority setting in the United States and Europe. The main...