Consulting about priorities for the NHMRC National Breast Cancer Centre: how good is the nominal group technique.

The National Health and Medical Research Council National Breast Cancer Centre was established to improve outcomes for women by reviewing the literature, developing best practice guidelines and resources and developing a national monitoring system. Its broad terms of reference meant that it was important at the outset to identify priorities for action. The Centre used a national consultative process based on nominal groups to identify priorities. Thirteen consultative workshops were held with over 300 participants including women diagnosed with breast cancer, some of their families and health professionals. There was a high level of agreement between workshops in priorities identified, indicating that the nominal group process results in reliable data. A sub-sample of participants surveyed after the workshops reported being highly satisfied with their participation in the process. The findings indicate that the nominal group process can be useful in selecting priorities for action in health.