EXPLORING PREFERENCES FOR LYME DISEASE VACCINES IN THE UNITED STATES: A LATENT CLASS APPROACH
Author(s)
Joshua Coulter, MA1, Brett Hauber, PhD2, Marco Boeri, BSc, MSc, PhD3, Hannah L Gould4, Stephanie Duench5, Justin O'Hagan4, Matthew Wallace4, Divya Mohan6, Holly Yu, MSPH7;
1Pfizer, Grand Rapids, MI, USA, 2Pfizer, New York, NY, USA, 3OPEN Health, Director of Preference Research at the Patient-Centered Outcomes, London, United Kingdom, 4USA, 5Pfizer, Toronto, ON, Canada, 6OPEN Health, London, United Kingdom, 7Pfizer, Inc., Collegeville, PA, USA
1Pfizer, Grand Rapids, MI, USA, 2Pfizer, New York, NY, USA, 3OPEN Health, Director of Preference Research at the Patient-Centered Outcomes, London, United Kingdom, 4USA, 5Pfizer, Toronto, ON, Canada, 6OPEN Health, London, United Kingdom, 7Pfizer, Inc., Collegeville, PA, USA
OBJECTIVES: Lyme disease (LD) affects almost 500,000 individuals in the United States (US) annually, yet no vaccine is available. This research aimed to quantify preferences for LD vaccine attributes and evaluate preference heterogeneity among potential recipients in the US.
METHODS: A web-based discrete-choice experiment (DCE) was administered to 2,000 adults living in high LD incidence states and neighboring states. Each DCE task presented two hypothetical vaccines (characterized by four attributes: 4-dose efficacy, risk of mild systemic adverse events (AE), risk of injection site reactions, and risk of severe AE requiring hospitalization) and a no vaccine alternative (opt-out). Preferences were analyzed using latent class (LC) models. Due to strong preferences for a vaccine, LC models included a “constrained class”, in which only the opt-out alternative-specific constant (ASC) was estimated and all other parameters were fixed at zero, representing respondents who did not differentiate between specific vaccine attributes. Conditional relative importance (CRI) weights were calculated using the preference weights from each class.
RESULTS: A four-class model best captured preference heterogeneity (using Information Criteria and class interpretability/relevance). The largest class (membership probability = 41.2%) was the “constrained class”, with a large negative value on the opt-out (people in this class wanted a vaccine no matter efficacy or safety). The next class (29.1%) placed the highest importance on efficacy (CRI: 66.9%). The third class (16.1%) placed the highest importance on minimizing the risk of severe AEs (CRI: 53.0%). The smallest class (13.6%) preferred not to be vaccinated. Significant predictors of class membership included age, vaccination history, and living in urban/rural area
CONCLUSIONS: Respondents showed a strong preference for being vaccinated against Lyme disease. The importance of vaccine attributes such as efficacy and safety varied across respondents. Tailored communication addressing specific concerns, especially around vaccine side effects, may enhance vaccine acceptance and uptake.
METHODS: A web-based discrete-choice experiment (DCE) was administered to 2,000 adults living in high LD incidence states and neighboring states. Each DCE task presented two hypothetical vaccines (characterized by four attributes: 4-dose efficacy, risk of mild systemic adverse events (AE), risk of injection site reactions, and risk of severe AE requiring hospitalization) and a no vaccine alternative (opt-out). Preferences were analyzed using latent class (LC) models. Due to strong preferences for a vaccine, LC models included a “constrained class”, in which only the opt-out alternative-specific constant (ASC) was estimated and all other parameters were fixed at zero, representing respondents who did not differentiate between specific vaccine attributes. Conditional relative importance (CRI) weights were calculated using the preference weights from each class.
RESULTS: A four-class model best captured preference heterogeneity (using Information Criteria and class interpretability/relevance). The largest class (membership probability = 41.2%) was the “constrained class”, with a large negative value on the opt-out (people in this class wanted a vaccine no matter efficacy or safety). The next class (29.1%) placed the highest importance on efficacy (CRI: 66.9%). The third class (16.1%) placed the highest importance on minimizing the risk of severe AEs (CRI: 53.0%). The smallest class (13.6%) preferred not to be vaccinated. Significant predictors of class membership included age, vaccination history, and living in urban/rural area
CONCLUSIONS: Respondents showed a strong preference for being vaccinated against Lyme disease. The importance of vaccine attributes such as efficacy and safety varied across respondents. Tailored communication addressing specific concerns, especially around vaccine side effects, may enhance vaccine acceptance and uptake.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-05, ISPOR 2026, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue S6
Code
PCR155
Topic
Patient-Centered Research
Disease
No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas, STA: Vaccines