Employing multiple-attribute utility technology to evaluate publicity activities for cancer information and counseling programs in Japan

Abstract Background Cancer Information and Support Centers (CISCs), which are set up at designated cancer care hospitals (DCCHs) according to the national cancer control programs in Japan, are expected to provide cancer patients and their families with information and counseling, but their public recognition remains low. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the publicity activities of CISCs. Methods In this study, we evaluated two types of activities for publicizing CISCs conducted inside and outside one of the DCCHs (‘Inside Activity’ and ‘Outside Activity’, respectively) by multi-attribute utility technology (MAUT). Seven types of stakeholders, including physicians (n = 5), nurses (n = 4), CISC cancer counselors (n = 5), executives (n = 5), office department staff (n = 5), and licensed social insurance consultants in the hospital (n = 5), as well as patients and citizens (n = 19) were involved in the evaluation. Results Eight goals of the program for publicizing CISCs were determined. The utility score for each goal was separately calculated for Inside Activity and Outside Activity, and those of the eight goals were summed up to obtain an overall utility score for each activity. Finally, no substantial difference in overall utility score was found between the activity types (Inside Activity = 82.00 vs. Outside Activity = 81.18), Conclusions It is implied that omitting or reducing either activity should be avoided in streamlining publicity activities at the CISCs. Despite the limited external validity of the finding, the methodology presented in this study is widely applicable to evaluate other multifaceted programs under an increasingly tight budget in the oncology setting. As the MAUT approach enables us to obtain numerical data for priority settings, it will contribute to rationalized healthcare management, especially in the oncology setting in which objective evaluations of the national cancer-related control programs are lacking and a broad range of stakeholders is involved.