MEDICINE-ACCESS PREFERENCES ACROSS COMMON COLD AND HYPERTENSION TREATMENT CONTEXTS IN CHINA: A WITHIN-SUBJECT DISCRETE CHOICE EXPERIMENT
Author(s)
Xinchang Liu, MSc1, Menglei Kong, MSc1, Zhiguang HUANG, PhD1, Yan HE, MNS1, Xuanbi Fang, BS1, Xinyao YI, MSc1, Qiwei Peng, MSc2, Wai-kit Ming, MBA, MPH, PhD, MD1.
1City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, 2The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China.
1City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, 2The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China.
OBJECTIVES: To compare how adults in mainland China value medicine-access attributes across short-course common-cold treatment and long-term hypertension treatment.
METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional, within-subject discrete choice experiment from January 5 to February 15, 2026. Eligible adults had obtained a prescription or purchased medicines in mainland China in the previous 6 months. Respondents completed two fixed-order modules: common-cold medicines followed by antihypertensive medicines. Each module contained eight analyzable two-alternative choice tasks and one dominant validity task. Attributes were medicine type, dosage form, purchasing channel, dosing frequency, supply stability, pre-reimbursement cost, and reimbursement rate. Scenario-specific mixed logit models estimated preference weights; a pooled interaction model with respondent-level clustered standard errors tested hypertension-versus-common-cold differences for shared attributes.
RESULTS: Of 1187 completed questionnaires, 1008 were retained after prespecified quality screening. In both scenarios, higher pre-reimbursement cost and supply instability decreased utility, while higher reimbursement increased utility. Cross-scenario differences were selective. Compared with common-cold choices, hypertension choices showed stronger sensitivity to pre-reimbursement cost (beta=-0.00019; P<0.001), reimbursement (beta=0.00417; P<0.001), supply instability (beta=-0.0990; P=0.005), domestic generic medicines (beta=-0.1570; P=0.006), pure traditional Chinese medicine (beta=-0.2990; P<0.001), offline over-the-counter purchase (beta=-0.2417; P<0.001), and online over-the-counter purchase (beta=-0.2916; P<0.001). No difference was detected for traditional Chinese medicine-Western combination products, oral liquid, granule, hospital prescription filled at a retail pharmacy, online consultation followed by online prescription purchase, or dosing frequency.
CONCLUSIONS: Medicine-access preferences differed across treatment contexts, with long-term hypertension choices placing greater weight on cost, reimbursement, supply stability, medicine type, and acquisition route. Stated-preference evidence can inform medicine-access design, but should not be interpreted as observed use, adherence, or clinical outcomes.
METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional, within-subject discrete choice experiment from January 5 to February 15, 2026. Eligible adults had obtained a prescription or purchased medicines in mainland China in the previous 6 months. Respondents completed two fixed-order modules: common-cold medicines followed by antihypertensive medicines. Each module contained eight analyzable two-alternative choice tasks and one dominant validity task. Attributes were medicine type, dosage form, purchasing channel, dosing frequency, supply stability, pre-reimbursement cost, and reimbursement rate. Scenario-specific mixed logit models estimated preference weights; a pooled interaction model with respondent-level clustered standard errors tested hypertension-versus-common-cold differences for shared attributes.
RESULTS: Of 1187 completed questionnaires, 1008 were retained after prespecified quality screening. In both scenarios, higher pre-reimbursement cost and supply instability decreased utility, while higher reimbursement increased utility. Cross-scenario differences were selective. Compared with common-cold choices, hypertension choices showed stronger sensitivity to pre-reimbursement cost (beta=-0.00019; P<0.001), reimbursement (beta=0.00417; P<0.001), supply instability (beta=-0.0990; P=0.005), domestic generic medicines (beta=-0.1570; P=0.006), pure traditional Chinese medicine (beta=-0.2990; P<0.001), offline over-the-counter purchase (beta=-0.2417; P<0.001), and online over-the-counter purchase (beta=-0.2916; P<0.001). No difference was detected for traditional Chinese medicine-Western combination products, oral liquid, granule, hospital prescription filled at a retail pharmacy, online consultation followed by online prescription purchase, or dosing frequency.
CONCLUSIONS: Medicine-access preferences differed across treatment contexts, with long-term hypertension choices placing greater weight on cost, reimbursement, supply stability, medicine type, and acquisition route. Stated-preference evidence can inform medicine-access design, but should not be interpreted as observed use, adherence, or clinical outcomes.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-11, ISPOR Europe 2026, Vienna, Austria
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue 12S
Code
PCR108
Topic
Epidemiology & Public Health, Health Policy & Regulatory, Patient-Centered Research
Disease
Alternative Medicine, Cardiovascular Disorders (including MI, Stroke, Circulatory), Generics