A multi-criteria evaluation of diseases in a study for public-health planning

Abstract This paper describes an assessment of the seriousness of (clusters of) diseases in two rounds, one with the criteria which are predominant for policy makers, and one with the criteria of the patients. The project was carried out in a Group Decision Room by 12 high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport in The Netherlands. The evaluation remained manageable by a context-related scaling technique which accelerated the decision process and enhanced the consistency of the evaluators.