Opportunities and Challenges of Web-Based and Remotely Administered Surveys for Patient Preference Studies in a Vulnerable Population

Serena Oliveri,1 Lucilla Lanzoni,1 Serena Petrocchi,1 Rosanne Janssens,2 Elise Schoefs,2 Isabelle Huys,2 Meredith Y Smith,3,4 Ian P Smith,5 Jorien Veldwijk,5,6 G Ardine de Wit,5 Gabriella Pravettoni1 1Applied Research Division for Cognitive and Psychological Science, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy; 2Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 3Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Boston, MA, USA; 4University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, Los Angeles, CA, USA; 5Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; 6School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, NetherlandsCorrespondence: Lucilla LanzoniEuropean Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Applied Research Division for Cognitive and Psychological Science, Via Giuseppe Ripamonti, 435, Milano, 20141, ItalyTel +39 294 372054Email lucilla.lanzoni@ieo.itAbstract: The application of web-based and remotely administered surveys is becoming increasingly popular due to the fact that it offers numerous advantages over traditional paper-based or computer-based surveys completed in the presence of the researcher. However, it is unclear whether complex preference elicitation tasks administered online in highly vulnerable patient populations are also feasible. This commentary discusses opportunities and challenges of conducting quantitative patient preference studies in lung cancer patients using web-based modes of data collection. We refer to our recent experience in the context of the Patient Preference in Benefit-Risk Assessments during the Drug Life Cycle (PREFER) project. Among the main advantages were the possibility of reaching a wider and geographically distant population in a shorter timeframe while reducing the financial costs of testing, the greater flexibility offered and the reduced burden on the patients. Some limitations were also identified and should be the object of further research, including the potential lack of inclusiveness of the research, the lack of control over who is completing the survey, a poor comprehension of the study material, and ultimately a lower level of engagement with the study. Despite these limitations, experience from the PREFER project suggests that online quantitative methods for data collection may provide a valuable method to explore preferences in vulnerable patient populations beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.Keywords: discrete choice experiment, swing weighting, web-based survey, educational tool, online data collection, lung cancer