Patient and Public Involvement in Health Economics Modelling Raises the Need for Normative Guidance

Patient and public involvement in health economics research and health technology assessment has been increasing for some time; however, patient and public involvement in health economics modelling is a more recent development. One reason to advance this type of involvement is to help appropriately manage the social and ethical value judgements that are required throughout model development and interpretation. At the same time, patient and public involvement in health economics modelling raises numerous practical and philosophical issues that invite discussion and debate. Recently, we attended an engagement event which invited patients, members of the public, researchers and decision-makers to discuss some of these issues. One priority that emerged in the discussion was to develop normative guidance for patient and public involvement in health economics modelling. In this article, we reflect on this goal from our own perspective, focusing on why normative guidance is needed and what questions that guidance should answer.