Search

Purpose: Topical treatments for mild-to-moderate (MM) atopic dermatitis (AD) include emollients, corticosteroids, calcineurin inhibitors, a Janus kinase inhibitor, and a phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor, which differ in multiple ways. This study aimed to quantify the conditional relative importance (CRI) of attributes of topical treatments for MM AD among adult and adolescent patients and caregivers of children with MM AD.Materials and methods: A discrete-choice experiment (DCE) survey was administered to US adults and adolescents with MM AD and caregivers of children with MM AD. Each choice task comprised 2 hypothetical topical treatments characterized by efficacy, adverse events, vehicle, and application frequency. Data were analyzed using a random-parameters logit model to calculate the CRI of each attribute.Results and conclusions: 300 adults, 331 adolescents, and 330 caregivers completed the DCE. Avoiding changes in skin color (CRI 29.0) and time until itch improves (26.6) were most important to adults, followed by time until clear/almost clear skin (17.8). Application frequency (3.0) did not have a statistically significant impact on adults’ choices. Adolescents were less concerned about changes in skin color than adults or caregivers; caregivers were less concerned about time until clear/almost clear skin than patients. Physicians should consider age-relevant aspects of preferences in treatment discussions with patients and caregivers.

Background and Aims: Treatments for ulcerative colitis (UC) differ in safety, efficacy, and route of administration; patient preferences for treatment attributes should be considered in treatment decisions. No study to date has explored patient preferences for moderate-to-severe UC treatment in Middle Eastern countries. Methods: A discrete-choice experiment aimed to quantify treatment preferences in patients with moderate-to-severe UC in 5 Middle Eastern countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon). Respondents chose between experimentally designed profiles for hypothetical UC treatments with varying efficacy (time until UC symptoms improve and chance of UC symptom control after 1 year), side effects (annual risk of serious infection, 5-year risk of malignancy), mode and frequency of administration, and need for occasional steroid use. A random-parameters logit model was used to estimate preference weights for these attributes, from which conditional relative importance estimates and maximum acceptable increases in risks of serious infection and malignancy were derived. Results: Among 365 adults with moderate-to-severe UC who completed the survey (mean age, 36 years; 50% female), 5-year risk of malignancy and symptom control after 1 year had the greatest conditional relative importance. Respondents were generally willing to accept statistically significant increases in annual risk of serious infection and 5-year risk of malignancy in exchange for better efficacy, changes in mode of administration and dosing schedule, and avoiding occasional steroid use. Conclusion: Of the attributes evaluated, individuals with UC in Middle Eastern countries most value avoiding 5-year risk of malignancy and a higher probability of symptom control, on average.

Objectives Low optimism and low numeracy are associated with difficulty or lack of participation in making treatment-related health care decisions. We investigated whether low optimism and low self-reported numeracy scores could help uncover evidence of decisional conflict in a discrete-choice experiment (DCE). Methods Preferences for a treatment to delay type 1 diabetes were elicited using a DCE among 1501 parents in the United States. Respondents chose between two hypothetical treatments or they could choose no treatment (opt out) in a series of choice questions. The survey included a measure of optimism and a measure of subjective numeracy. We used latent class analyses where membership probability was predicted by optimism and numeracy scores. Results Respondents with lower optimism scores had a higher probability of membership in a class with disordered preferences ( P value for optimism coefficient = 0.032). Those with lower self-reported numeracy scores were more likely to be in a class with a strong preference for opting out and disordered preferences ( P = 0.000) or a class with a preference for opting out and avoiding serious treatment-related risks ( P = 0.015). Conclusions If respondents with lower optimism and numeracy scores are more likely to choose to opt out or have disordered preferences in a DCE, it may indicate that they have difficulty completing choice tasks.