Estimating Patients' Preferences for Medical Devices: Does the Number of Profile in Choice Experiments Matter?

John Bridges, Christine Buttorff and Karin Groothuis-Oudshoorn

No 17482, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Background: Most applications of choice-based conjoint analysis in health use choice tasks with only two profiles, while those in marketing routinely use three or more. This study reports on a randomized trial comparing paired with triplet profile choice formats focused on measuring patient preference for hearing aids. Methods: Respondents with hearing loss were drawn from a nationally representative cohort, completed identical surveys incorporating a conjoint analysis, but were randomized to choice tasks with two or three profiles. Baseline differences between the two groups were explored using ANOVA and chi-square tests. The primary outcomes of differences in estimated preferences were explored using t-tests, likelihood ratio tests, and analysis of individual-level models estimated with ordinary least squares. Results: 500 respondents were recruited. 127 had no hearing loss, 28 had profound loss and 22 declined to participate and were not analyzed. Of the remaining 323 participants, 146 individuals were randomized to the pairs and 177 to triplets. The only significant difference between the groups was time to complete the survey (11.5 and 21 minutes respectively). Pairs and triplets produced identical rankings of attribute importance but homogeneity was rejected (P

JEL-codes: C91 I11 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp and nep-hea
Note: EH
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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