Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: Regulatory guidance (i.e., FDA Patient-Focused Drug Development) underscores the importance of conceptual models in patient experience research. These models help define how treatment benefits are assessed and ensure alignment with what matters most to patients. Nevertheless, their use in health preference research (e.g. discrete choice experiments [DCEs]) remains limited. Preference studies are typically informed by literature reviews, qualitative research, and expert consultation, but not commonly systematised in a conceptual model. This study aims to identify and critically examine conceptual models used in health preference studies, summarising their objectives, characteristics, sources, and visualisation approaches, and highlighting gaps for future methodological guidance.
METHODS: A scoping review was conducted using systematic searches in PubMed, Embase, and grey literature sources (July 2025; last ten years). Studies were included if they described or applied conceptual models in patient, caregiver, or healthcare practitioner preference research, across any disease area. Records were screened in stages, and data were synthesised narratively and thematically. This review is registered at the Open Science Framework.
RESULTS: Eleven manuscripts met inclusion criteria. Terminology used to describe conceptual models was highly variable, and development processes lacked consistency - ranging from formal literature reviews and interviews to expert opinions and ad hoc use of selected manuscripts. Visualisation formats were heterogeneous, including tables and diagrams. Conceptual models were mostly employed as a precursor to designing DCEs.
CONCLUSIONS: Most preference studies do not report developing a conceptual model before conducting quantitative exercises (e.g. DCEs), highlighting a gap in current practice. Shifting best practices toward routinely developing and reporting conceptual models to underpin study design would enhance transparency and reproducibility in the field. Among studies reporting conceptual models, there is marked heterogeneity in terminology, sources, and visual representation. This may reflect the limited explicit guidance in preference research, particularly compared with patient experience research where conceptual models are more established.