Reporting Quality of Marginal Rates of Substitution in Discrete Choice Experiments That Elicit Patient Preferences

Aug 1, 2020, 00:00
10.1016/j.jval.2020.04.1831
https://www.valueinhealthjournal.com/article/S1098-3015(20)32104-5/fulltext
Title : Reporting Quality of Marginal Rates of Substitution in Discrete Choice Experiments That Elicit Patient Preferences
Citation : https://www.valueinhealthjournal.com/action/showCitFormats?pii=S1098-3015(20)32104-5&doi=10.1016/j.jval.2020.04.1831
First page : 979
Section Title : BRIEF REPORT
Open access? : No
Section Order : 979

Background

Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are commonly used to elicit patient preferences as marginal rates of substitution (MRSs) between treatment or health service attributes. Because these studies are increasing in importance, it is vital that uncertainty around MRS estimates is reported.

Objective

To review recently published DCE studies that elicit patient preferences in relation to MRS reporting and to explore the accuracy of using other reported information to estimate the uncertainty of the MRSs.

Methods

A systematic literature review of DCEs conducted with patients between 2014 and July 2019 was performed. The number of studies reporting coefficients, MRSs, standard errors (SEs), and confidence intervals was recorded. If all information was reported, studies were included in an analysis to determine the impact of estimating the SEs of MRSs using coefficients and assuming zero covariance, to determine the impact of this assumption.

Results

Two hundred and thirty-two patient DCEs were identified in the review; 34.1% (n = 79) reported 1 or more MRS and, of these, only 62.0% (n = 49) provided an estimate of the uncertainty. Of these studies, 16 contained enough information for inclusion in the analysis, providing 116 datapoints. Actual SEs were smaller than estimated SEs in 75.0% of cases (n = 87), and estimated SEs were within 25% of the actual SE in 59.5% of cases (n = 69).

Conclusion

Uncertainty of MRS estimates is unreported in a substantial proportion of recently published DCE studies. Estimating the SE of a MRS by solely using the SEs of the utility coefficients is likely to lead to biased estimates of the precision of patient trade-offs.

Categories :
  • Literature Review & Synthesis
  • Patient-Centered Research
  • Stated Preference & Patient Satisfaction
  • Study Approaches
Tags :
  • discrete choice experiments
  • health preference research
  • marginal rates of substitution
  • patient preferences
  • uncertainty
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