Examining the attitudes and preferences of health care decision-makers in relation to access, equity and cost-effectiveness: A discrete choice experiment

In Europe, health insurance arrangements are under reform. These arrangements redistribute collectively financed resources to ensure access to health care for all. Allocation of health services is historically based on medical needs, but use of other criteria, such as lifestyle, is debated upon. Does the general public also have preferences for conditional allocation? This depends on their opinions regarding deservingness. The aim of this study was to gain insight in those opinions, specifically by examining the perceived weight of different criteria in allocation decisions. Based on literature and expert interviews, we included 5 criteria in a discrete choice experiment: need, financial capacity, lifestyle, cooperation with treatment, and package/premium choice. A representative sample of the Dutch population was invited to participate (n = 10 760). A total of 774 people accessed the questionnaire (7.2%), of whom 375 completed it (48.4%). Medical need was overall the most important criterion in determining deservingness (range β = 1.60). Perceived deservingness decreased if claimants had higher financial capacity (1.26) and unhealthier lifestyle (1.04), if their cooperation was less optimal (1.05), or if they had opted for less insurance coverage (0.56). However, preferences vary among respondents, in relation to demographic and ideological factors.

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Designing a brief behaviour change intervention to reduce sexually transmitted infections: a discrete choice experiment

International Journal of STD & AIDS ◽

10.1177/0956462418760425 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 29 (9) ◽

pp. 851-860 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Alec Miners ◽

Carrie Llewellyn ◽

Carina King ◽

Alex Pollard ◽

Anupama Roy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Sexually Transmitted Infections ◽

Discrete Choice Experiment ◽

Discrete Choice ◽

Choice Experiment ◽

Important Determinant ◽

Behavioural Change ◽

Behaviour Change Intervention ◽

Sexually Transmitted ◽

Sex With Men

To understand whether people attending sexual health (SH) clinics are willing to participate in a brief behavioural change intervention (BBCI) to reduce the likelihood of future sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and to understand their preferences for different service designs, we conducted a discrete choice experiment (DCE) with young heterosexual adults (aged 16–25 years), and men who have sex with men (MSM) aged 16 or above, attending SH clinics in England. Data from 368 participants showed that people particularly valued BBCIs that involved talking (OR 1.45; 95%CI 1.35, 1.57 compared with an ‘email or text’-based BBCIs), preferably with a health care professional rather than a peer. Findings also showed that 26% of respondents preferred ‘email/texts’ to all other options; the remaining 14% preferred not to participate in any of the offered BBCIs. These results suggest that most people attending SH clinics in England are likely to participate in a BBCI if offered, but the type/format of the BBCI is likely to be the single important determinant of uptake rather than characteristics such as the length and the number of sessions. Moreover, participants generally favoured ‘talking’-based options rather than digital alternatives, which are likely to require the most resources to implement.

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