“Best of Both World”: The Amalgamation of Fuzzy Delphi Method with Nominal Group Technique for Dengue Risk Prioritisation Decision-Making

Author:

Ahmad Zamzuri Mohd‘Ammar Ihsan12ORCID,Naserrudin Nurul Athirah1,Ali Noor Khalili Mohd2,Aziz Suriyati Abd3,Rashid Mohammad Faid Abd.3,Dapari Rahmat4,Ramdzan Abdul Rahman5ORCID,Hod Rozita1ORCID,Hassan Mohd Rohaizat1ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Malaysia Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2. Seremban District Health Office, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Jalan Lee Sam, Bandar Seremban, 70590, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

3. General Hospital of Malacca, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Jalan Mufti Haji Khalil, 75400 Melaka, Malaysia

4. Department of Community Health, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

5. Department of Public Health Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Abstract

Introduction. Dengue remains a public health threat. Clarifying the characteristics of future threats and prioritising intervention towards the highest risk potential can help to control and prevent dengue outbreaks. However, obtaining a consensus from panels of experts is certainly challenging due to the relative subjectivity of experience. Therefore, this article incorporates the fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) within a nominal group technique (NGT) as a multicriteria decision-making tool for (1) describing the characteristics of socioecological attributes (SEAs) with a high risk of causing dengue outbreak and (2) ranking those SEAs as priorities for intervention. Material and Methods. Experts were recruited using a purposive sampling technique. Informed consent was obtained before the start of the study. The NGT process began with an introductory presentation of dengue SEA by the moderator, followed by “silent generation.” Next, each participant provided information in a round-robin fashion. Ideas were collected by the moderator and displayed publicly. All experts were given ample time and space to contribute and justify their ideas without interruption during the discussion step to yield agreeable SEA characteristics. Ultimately, FDM was incorporated in the voting step to ensure rigorous analysis. The study was approved by an ethical committee before its commencement. Results. A total of 10 field experts participated in the study, with a median experience of 7.5 years working on a dengue team. The common characteristics of SEA prone to cause dengue outbreaks were the presence of human-made containers, in high quantities, left unattended, and covered from direct sunlight. Apart from that, all eight SEAs passed the triangulation of fuzzy numbers and defuzzification processes. The average fuzzy numbers ranged between 0.500 and 0.780, and the threshold value ( d ) ranged from 0.055 to 0.196. Of the potential risk factors identified, experts ranked illegal dumping sites as the most important, followed by old and unused items and construction sites. Conclusion. The NGT process successfully helped to obtain a consensus among the expert panels in describing SEA characteristics. Nevertheless, the integration of FDM offered a robust analysis that validated their ranking in dengue risk prioritisation. Therefore, we strongly recommend the application of FDM to be incorporated in any public health decision-making process.

Funder

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Publisher

Hindawi Limited

Subject

Analysis

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