How to Present a Decision Object in Health Preference Research: Attributes and Levels, the Decision Model, and the Descriptive Framework

Axel C. Mühlbacher (), Esther W. Bekker-Grob, Oliver Rivero-Arias, Bennett Levitan and Caroline Vass
Additional contact information
Axel C. Mühlbacher: HS Neubrandenburg
Esther W. Bekker-Grob: Erasmus University Rotterdam
Oliver Rivero-Arias: University of Oxford
Bennett Levitan: Janssen R&D
Caroline Vass: RTI Health Solutions

The Patient: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, 2025, vol. 18, issue 4, No 1, 302 pages

Abstract: Abstract In health preference research (HPR) studies, data are generated by participants’/subjects’ decisions. When developing an HPR study, it is therefore important to have a clear understanding of the components of a decision and how those components stimulate participant behavior. To obtain valid and reliable results, study designers must sufficiently describe the decision model and its components. HPR studies require a detailed examination of the decision criteria, detailed documentation of the descriptive framework, and specification of hypotheses. The objects that stimulate subjects’ decisions in HPR studies are defined by attributes and attribute levels. Any limitations in the identification and presentation of attributes and levels can negatively affect preference elicitation, the quality of the HPR data, and study results. This practical guide shows how to link the HPR question to an underlying decision model. It covers how to (1) construct a descriptive framework that presents relevant characteristics of a decision object and (2) specify the research hypotheses. The paper outlines steps and available methods to achieve all this, including the methods’ advantages and limitations.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40271-024-00673-y Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

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:spr:patien:v:18:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1007_s40271-024-00673-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/40271

DOI: 10.1007/s40271-024-00673-y

Access Statistics for this article

The Patient: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research is currently edited by Christopher I. Carswell

More articles in The Patient: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research from Springer, International Academy of Health Preference Research
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().