Patient Preferences for Long-Term Implant Care in Cochlear, Glaucoma and Cardiovascular Diseases

Sabine Schulz (), Laura Harzheim, Constanze Hübner, Mariya Lorke, Saskia Jünger, Annika Buchholz, Stefanie Frech, Melanie Steffens and Christiane Woopen
Additional contact information
Sabine Schulz: Cologne Center for Ethics, Rights, Economics, and Social Sciences of Health (CERES), University of Cologne and University Hospital of Cologne, Universitätsstraße 91, 50931 Cologne, Germany
Laura Harzheim: Cologne Center for Ethics, Rights, Economics, and Social Sciences of Health (CERES), University of Cologne and University Hospital of Cologne, Universitätsstraße 91, 50931 Cologne, Germany
Constanze Hübner: Center for Life Ethics, University of Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany
Mariya Lorke: Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics, University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSBI), 33619 Bielefeld, Germany
Saskia Jünger: Department of Community Health, University of Applied Health Sciences Bochum, Gesundheitscampus 6-8, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Annika Buchholz: Department of Otolaryngology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Stefanie Frech: Department of Ophthalmology, Rostock University Medical Center, Doberaner Str. 140, 18057 Rostock, Germany
Melanie Steffens: Department of Otolaryngology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Christiane Woopen: Center for Life Ethics, University of Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 14, 1-19

Abstract: In the process of developing and implementing innovative implant technologies the consideration of patient preferences can be beneficial for patients, doctors and developers. Nevertheless, in existing literature, there is still scarce knowledge of patients’ perspectives on long-term implant care. In this study, three discrete choice experiments (DCEs) were conducted in the context of cochlear implants (CI, n = 92), glaucoma implants (GI, n = 21) and cardiovascular implants (CVI, n = 23), examining the relative importance of attributes of long-term implant care from the patients’ perspective. The participants chose between differently shaped options for implant-related care. The attributes of these care options were generated and selected based on previous literature reviews, group discussions and a diary study with patients. The choice data were analyzed via binary logit regression. In CI-DCE, the technological compatibility of the implant with newer implant models, accessories or devices from other manufacturers was highly valued by participants, whereas in GI-DCE the (in)dependency on glaucoma medication post-implantation had the greatest influence on participants’ choice behavior. In CVI-DCE, the attribute with the highest relative importance related to the means of securing long-term treatment success. In all three DCE, shared decision making was relatively important for participants. Our results emphasized the importance of an adequate transfer of technological advancements in implant care for promoting patient benefits, such as the availability of comprehensible, understandable, high-quality information about current developments. Similarly, promoting technological health literacy and further pushing the technological compatibility, durability and safety of implants are directions for future implant development in accordance with patients’ preferences. Therefore, the participation of implant wearers in the development process is encouraged.

Keywords: sustainability; compatibility; implant failure; durability; decision making; information needs; technological progress; treatment success; reimplantation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/14/6358/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/14/6358/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:14:p:6358-:d:1193060

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().