Preference Heterogeneity Research Articles

Preferences for a community pharmacy-based pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery program: A discrete choice experiment

BackgroundCommunity pharmacies are ideal venues for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery. Pharmacists and pharmacy-based PrEP delivery programs have the potential to improve access. ObjectivesThis study elicited preferences for attributes of a hypothetical community pharmacy-based PrEP delivery program among US men who have sex with men (MSM) and assessed predictors of their preferences. MethodsData were collected via a cross-sectional anonymous survey of US MSM, who were aged 18-65 years, not transgender, reported HIV status negative/unknown, and PrEP eligible. A discrete choice experiment was conducted with seven attributes of a pharmacy-based PrEP program: initial PrEP eligibility screening mode, location for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) tests, timing for HIV test results, PrEP decision-making style, location of PrEP consultations, PrEP medication fill method, and mode for ongoing monitoring. Latent class analysis was performed to analyze preference heterogeneity. Multinomial logistic regression assessed predictors of latent class membership. ResultsThis study included 390 MSM. Time to receive HIV test results was the most important attribute; receiving results on the same day had the highest preference. The next most important attribute was PrEP screening mode; online questionnaires were the most preferred. Respondents’ preferences clustered into four classes: 1) “Same day results and online monitoring” (SDROM) group (63.1%), 2) “Consumerist decision-making” (CDM) group (16.2%), 3) “Self-screening (online questionnaire)” (SOQ) group (11.3%), and 4) “Same day results preferring” (SDRP) group (9.5%). Hispanic MSM (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] =0.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.12-0.84], P = 0.020), MSM of other races (aOR=0.38, 95% CI [0.15-0.97], P = 0.044) vs. White MSM; and those having a sexually transmitted disease recently (aOR=0.37, 95% CI [0.16-0.85], P = 0.018), had lower odds of being in the CDM group vs. the SDROM group. ConclusionsMSM’s preferences for a pharmacy-based PrEP program are heterogeneous. Same day results for HIV tests and online PrEP screening are key components when designing a community pharmacy-based PrEP program.

Heterogeneous Adaptive Preference Learning for Recommendation

Graph-based collaborative filtering techniques have emerged as a promising recommendation approach by modeling user-item interaction as graphs. Recently, contrastive learning has been employed in graph collaborative through data augmentation, which can effectively offer data efficiency and reduce labeling costs. Nonetheless, most existing contrastive learning approaches overlook the heterogeneous auxiliary information pertaining to users and items, such as user social relationships and item categories, which are crucial to alleviate the data sparsity issue. In this paper, we propose a novel contrastive learning method, referred to as Heterogeneous Adaptive Preference Learning for Recommendation (HAPLRec), which explicitly incorporates fine-grained preference information from both users and items. Specifically, we construct user relationship graphs and item relationship graphs based on specific meta-paths in a heterogeneous graph. Subsequently, we conduct data augmentation on these graphs individually to obtain auxiliary contrastive tasks. Moreover, we introduce an optimization algorithm that leverages the gradient similarity between the main task and the auxiliary tasks, dynamically adjusting the weight assigned to each task to expedite achieving superior performance within a shorter time frame. The effectiveness of the proposed model is demonstrated through extensive experiments conducted on three publicly available datasets.

Identifying Heterogeneous Willingness to Pay for New Energy Vehicles Attributes: A Discrete Choice Experiment in China

New energy vehicles (NEVs) have emerged as a promising solution to reduce carbon emissions and address environmental concerns in the transportation sector. In order to effectively accelerate market acceptance, it is crucial to prioritize the heterogeneity of consumer preferences for NEV attributes. This study employs the multinomial logit model (MNL) and latent class model (LCM) to investigate both observed and unobserved preference heterogeneity based on stated preferences obtained from a discrete choice experiment conducted across seven cities in China. Results from the MNL model indicate that all attributes significantly influence alternative utility. In particular, there are differences in the willingness to pay (WTP) for attributes of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Analysis of MNL subgroups reveals observed heterogeneity in WTP for identical attributes among consumers from regions with different latitudes and markets with different NEV penetration rates. Furthermore, the LCM model uncovers unobserved preference heterogeneity by classifying respondents into four distinct classes and identifies specific socioeconomic variables associated with each class. The recognition of heterogeneous WTP for NEV attributes across vehicle types, regions, markets, and consumer classes provides important implications for formulating targeted policies that promote the sustainable development of the NEV industry.

Cash or Non-Cash? Exploring Ideators’ Incentive Preferences in Crowdsourcing Contests

ABSTRACT Even though research has repeatedly shown that non-cash incentives can be effective, cash incentives are the de facto standard in crowdsourcing contests. In this multi-study research, we quantify ideators’ preferences for non-cash incentives and investigate how allowing ideators to self-select their preferred incentive—offering ideators a choice between cash and non-cash incentives—affects their creative performance. We further explore whether the market context of the organization hosting the contest—social (non-profit) or monetary (for-profit)—moderates incentive preferences and their effectiveness. We find that individuals exhibit heterogeneous incentive preferences and often prefer non-cash incentives, even in for-profit contexts. Offering ideators a choice of incentives can enhance creative performance. Market context moderates the effect of incentives, such that ideators who receive non-cash incentives in for-profit contexts tend to exert less effort. We show that heterogeneity of ideators’ preferences (and the ability to satisfy diverse preferences with suitably diverse incentive options) is a critical boundary condition to realizing benefits from offering ideators a choice of incentives. We provide managers with guidance to design effective incentives by improving incentive-preference fit for ideators.

Conflict analysis of multiple decision-makers ecological environment governance of water resources based on graph model with heterogeneous preference in China's South-to-North water transfer project

Ecological environment governance of water resources is the foundation and key measures to ensure good water quality in China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project. However, as a limited rational economic person, considering their economic benefit, different involvers in China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project show different types of preference relations and make different action decisions as well as play conflicts with each other, which have a negative effect on ecological environmental governance. To overcome above-described shortcomings, heterogeneous preferences are integrated into graph model for conflict resolution (GMCR) to resolve ecological environment governance conflict of water resources. Specifically, first, four different structures of preference expression, including preference orderings, utility functions, multiplicative preferences, and additive preferences, are used to represent decision-maker's (DM's) preference information over states. Then, a novel preference ranking method is designed to calculate the ordinal preferences over all states by using matrix representation. Based on this, a set of heterogeneous stability definitions is proposed in GMCR to describe human diversified choice and behavior in detail, and it is applied to the ecological environment governance conflict of water resources in China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project. The heterogeneous stability analysis result showed that incentive policies used by water resources agencies can effectively encourage local governments and enterprises to actively participate in the ecological environment governance, and promote the ecological environment governance conflict to evolve into a state of equilibrium.

Assessing preferences for forest carbon credit and co-benefits: A choice experiment case study in Japan

This study investigated corporate preferences for forest carbon credit offsets. The preferences were elicited through a choice experiment by administering a questionnaire to determine the price of credit, location of forest sequestration project offset, social development on local employment, preservation of ecosystem services, and unit of sustainable development goals (SDGs). We also examined stated preferences for credit offset and the willingness to pay. The analysis employed multinomial logit and random parameter logit (RPL) models to account for heterogeneity in preferences. The results showed that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) held a neutral stance regarding offsetting their emissions and were categorized as being in the early stages of engagement with carbon offsetting. As SMEs can decide whether to purchase credit, we assessed their preferences for the type of credit-based forest carbon sequestration. SMEs had a significant preference for the location of the project, SDGs, and credit price when deciding to purchase credit based on the RPL model estimates. They were willing to pay JPY 6,191 (approximately USD 41) for the location of a project to be local rather than overseas, JPY 933 for a higher number of unit SDGs, and JPY 131 for an increase in the number of jobs. These results suggest that SMEs prefer purchasing local credit generated within their prefecture as a carbon offset alternative.

Detecting early-warning biomarkers associated with heart-exosome genetic-signature for acute myocardial infarction: A source-tracking study of exosome.

The genetic information of plasma total-exosomes originating from tissues have already proven useful to assess the severity of coronary artery diseases (CAD). However, plasma total-exosomes include multiple sub-populations secreted by various tissues. Only analysing the genetic information of plasma total-exosomes is perturbed by exosomes derived from other organs except the heart. We aim to detect early-warning biomarkers associated with heart-exosome genetic-signatures for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) by a source-tracking analysis of plasma exosome. The source-tracking of AMI plasma total-exosomes was implemented by deconvolution algorithm. The final early-warning biomarkers associated with heart-exosome genetic-signatures for AMI was identified by integration with single-cell sequencing, weighted gene correction network and machine learning analyses. The correlation between biomarkers and clinical indicators was validated in impatient cohort. A nomogram was generated using early-warning biomarkers for predicting the CAD progression. The molecular subtypes landscape of AMI was detected by consensus clustering. A higher fraction of exosomes derived from spleen and blood cells was revealed in plasma exosomes, while a lower fraction of heart-exosomes was detected. The gene ontology revealed that heart-exosomes genetic-signatures was associated with the heart development, cardiac function and cardiac response to stress. We ultimately identified three genes associated with heart-exosomes defining early-warning biomarkers for AMI. The early-warning biomarkers mediated molecular clusters presented heterogeneous metabolism preference in AMI. Our study introduced three early-warning biomarkers associated with heart-exosome genetic-signatures, which reflected the genetic information of heart-exosomes carrying AMI signals and provided new insights for exosomes research in CAD progression and prevention.

Self-Employed Versus Paid-Employed: What are the Different Preferences for Microfinance? Experimental Evidence From Rural China

Microfinance has gained significant importance in supporting the livelihoods of individuals in developing economies. This paper examines the influence of self-employment on preferences for microfinance, based on the hypothesis that self-employment choices and participation in microfinance share the same decision-making ability. The analysis utilizes data from a recent survey conducted in rural China, employing a generalized multinomial logit model (GMNL) to account for both preference heterogeneity and scale heterogeneity. This model allows us to investigate the choice probabilities and the impact of different types of self-employment on preferences for microfinance attributes. The empirical findings indicate that engaging in self-employment contributes to a sense of reassurance regarding preferences for microfinance among rural respondents. Specifically, non-agricultural self-employment has a positive effect on this preference, whereas agricultural self-employment has a negative effect.

Analysis of preferences of households for choosing heating and cooling systems: A discrete choice analysis in Iran

The residential sector uses a large fraction of energy for heating and cooling to provide comfort conditions for households. Technical features of appliances are determining factors of the demand for energy. The present paper thus aims to study the determinants of household adoption decision by applying the discrete choice model. Households face with unordered choice, and multinomial and mixed logit models are employed to study the heterogeneity of choices of households related to heating and cooling technologies. While most of the research works have considered preferences based on cross-sectional data collected through discrete choice experiments, the present study employs micro-level household survey data including observed preferences in order to contribute to better understanding of the actual choice behavior of households. In addition, the dynamic effect of variation of variables on the household preferences have been investigated over time. The results show that heterogenous preferences of families in choosing appliances are affected by socio-demographic characteristics. Analysis of marginal effects indicate that urbanization, education, building type and households expenditure are the most effective parameters. The level of education has the most positive impact on the adoption of wall-mounted package and split air conditioner where the probability of using them has increased by 1.65% and 4.87%, respectively. On the other hand, high education level reduces the probability of gas heater and fan adoption by 3.49% and 3.43%. The estimated results show that urbanization increases the probability of choosing central heating by 3.73% and split air conditioner by 6.1% while it decreases the adoption probability of oil heater by 5.02% and fan as by 8.9%.

Preferences in adolescents and young people’s sexual and reproductive health services in Nigeria: a discrete choice experiment

BackgroundBarriers to utilization of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services by adolescents and young people (AYP) have persisted despite evidence that youth-friendly services have a positive effect on contraceptive use, and patient knowledge and satisfaction.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to elicit, and derive relative valuations for, attributes of SRH services that adolescents and young people value, and their willingness to pay for these services, in public health facilities.MethodsA discrete-choice-experiment (DCE) that was developed using a mixed methods approach was administered to AYP from Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria. The DCE attributes were: the type of staff; physical environment; health worker attitude; cost; waiting time; contraceptive availability; and opening hours. The choice tasks had two unlabeled alternatives and an opt-out option. Panel mixed logit choice model was used to fit the choice data, along with estimation of willingness to pay (WTP). Also, a latent class logit model was used to detect underlying preference heterogeneity among the respondents. Finally, the uptake of the services in health facilities was investigated by estimating the probabilities for selecting hypothetical health facilities under different scenarios.ResultsA total of 859 AYP participated resulting in 6872 choice observations. The physical environment attribute had the highest utility rating relative to the other attributes, followed by preference for a doctor and for a service provider who was open and friendly. The cost and time coefficients were negative, revealing preference for lower cost and shorter waiting time. The latent class model had three classes that varied by their background characteristics. Probability of choosing any of the facility alternatives increased with introduction of more favorable facility characteristics.ConclusionThe pattern of preferences identified are potential targets for service design and delivery optimization that may result in improvements in service acceptability and utilization. These results strengthen the call for involving AYP in decision-making in health interventions for them and developing context-specific SRH programs for AYP in public health facilities.

Love as a Low Priority: Gender and Relationship History Differences in Singles’ Value of Romantic Partnership

This study uses original data from the Dynamics of Social Life During COVID-19 Survey (DSL-COVID) to examine the importance of romantic partnership among heterosexual single adults in the United States. We find that almost 40 percent of single adults report that having a long-term committed romantic relationship is “not at all important” to their lives. However, the importance of finding a romantic partner varies by gender and prior relationship experience. Compared to women with no prior romantic relationships, women who have been in a committed romantic relationship or have been married before are more likely to report having a romantic partner is not at all important. In contrast, men who have been in a committed romantic relationship are more likely to report that having a romantic partner is at least somewhat important compared to men with no relationship experience. Prior experience with romantic relationships is associated with lower value of romantic partnership for women, but a higher value of romantic partnership for men. These results have implications for union formation, as singles exhibit heterogeneous romantic relationship preferences. Future research on union formation should consider how singles value traditional romantic partnership and further explore how gender relates to dating and relationship decisions.

Patient Preferences for Treatment Attributes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Results From a Large Survey Across Seven European Countries Using a Discrete Choice Experiment.

Inflammatory bowel disease requires long-term treatment; therefore, understanding patient preferences is important in aiding informed treatment decision making. This study explored patients' preferences for treatment attributes of available inflammatory bowel disease therapies. Adult patients from 7 European countries who self-reported previous/current treatment for Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) participated in an online survey via the Carenity platform. In a discrete choice experiment, the relative importance of treatment attributes for CD and UC was estimated using conditional logit models. Latent class analysis was conducted to estimate heterogeneous treatment preferences based on patient profiles. Patients' perspectives and preferences regarding their quality of life were assessed. Across 686 completed survey responses (CD, n = 360; UC, n = 326), the mean patient age was 48 and 50 years, respectively. Patients with CD ranked route of administration as the most important attribute (attribute importance: 32%), preferring subcutaneous over intravenous treatment (P < .001). Patients with UC ranked route of administration and frequency of serious adverse events as the most important attributes (attribute importance: 31% and 23%, respectively), preferring oral (P < .001) and subcutaneous (P < .001) over intravenous treatment and treatment that minimized the risk of serious adverse events (P < .001) or mild adverse events (P < .01). Latent class analyses confirmed the impact of patients' sociodemographic profile on their preferences. All patients prioritized general well-being, energy level, and daily activities as the most important aspects for improvement through treatment. Patient preferences for treatment attributes varied among patients with CD or UC, highlighting the importance of personalized care and shared decision making to maximize treatment benefits.

How do consumers’ fashion lifestyles differentiate their logistics preferences for fashion products?

PurposeThis study addresses the knowledge gap on consumers’ logistics preferences for online fashion retailing. Despite the effects of operational attributes, including fulfillment cost, speed, time, and convenience, this study further characterizes consumer heterogeneity in fashion shopping with a fashion lifestyle measurement scale, and examines how such heterogeneity differentiates logistics preferences. Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire that consists of attitudinal measurements on fashion lifestyles and a stated choice experiment is disseminated to an online panel in Singapore. The collected responses are analyzed using the Integrated Choice and Latent Variable model. FindingsThis study concludes the significant effects of fulfillment cost, speed, specificity of home delivery slot, and distance to pickup locations on consumers' logistics choices. Meanwhile, consumers’ fashion lifestyles, including fashion consciousness, brand focus, and enjoyment orientation, are found to have considerable correlations with their heterogeneous logistics preferences. Originality/valueThis study fills the knowledge gap regarding online fashion consumers’ logistics preferences. Despite the generic operational attributes, special attention is dedicated to the unique feature of fashion shopping with differentiated shopping motivations. With such treatments, this study advocates the incorporation of segment-specific attributes in future consumer logistics research. Meanwhile, this study pioneers the inspection of the nexus between shopping motivation and logistics preference, which paves a new direction for future exploration. Practical implicationsThis study allows practitioners to predict channel demand with consumer profiling, and make informed logistics decisions, such as inventory management. This can effectively strengthen practitioners’ economic sustainability to remain competitive in contemporary consumer-centric shopping landscapes.

Debt Stabilisation and Dynamic Interaction Between Monetary Authority and National Fiscal Authorities

AbstractThe main aim of the present research is to consider a monetary union’s economy consisting of N countries, N fiscal authorities (one for each country) and a single monetary authority. The fiscal authorities want to stabilise output and public debt through the primary government balance, and they can exhibit heterogeneous preferences about the trade-off between output and debt stability. Unlike these, the monetary authority has the aim of price and output stability. They play a non-cooperative policy game, in which they independently and simultaneously choose monetary and fiscal instruments to pursue their goals. In a dynamic setting, each authority must choose its policy instrument prevailing in the next period without knowing—at the end of each period—the choice of other authorities. By assuming static expectations, the present work shows the possibility of several dynamic outcomes. First, there exists one Nash equilibrium representing the optimal level for the macro economy; this equilibrium is stable if the average weight that fiscal authorities assign to output stability is not excessively high; therefore, this result holds even if some authorities are less willing to promote debt stabilisation. Second, in addition to this equilibrium, there exist other Nash equilibria representing steady-state values for macroeconomic variables that differ from the targets adopted by the authorities; these equilibria emerge and are stable if the authorities’ preference for output stability is even greater and with a higher degree of heterogeneity compared to the previous case. Third, the parameters of the model matter to determine the stability properties of the equilibria, and the analysis shows the possibility of nonlinear dynamics.

Research on enterprise production decision‐making considering consumer heterogeneity under carbon labeling system

AbstractThe article focuses on consumers with heterogeneous preferences for product carbon footprints under two carbon labeling systems: carbon reduction labels and carbon footprint labels. Using mathematical models, the study explores the optimal decision‐making behavior of enterprises under the carbon labeling system based on consumer utility theory at the enterprise level. It also investigates consumer surplus, environmental improvement, and social welfare under different production modes of the carbon reduction label and carbon footprint label systems at the societal level. The research findings are as follows: (1) At the level of economic benefits for enterprises, choosing to produce products with carbon reduction labels is more favorable when the investment costs for emission reduction are high, while choosing to produce products with carbon footprint labels is more favorable when the investment costs for emission reduction are low. The optimal prices of products under the two carbon labeling systems show opposite trends compared to the investment costs for emission reduction. (2) At the level of environmental benefits for enterprises, under the carbon reduction labeling system, whether through full production or a mixed production mode, enterprises are only willing to reduce the carbon footprint of products to the standard value. However, under the carbon footprint labeling system, especially in the mixed production mode, enterprises show a stronger willingness to overachieve in emission reduction target. (3) At the level of social benefits, compared to the situation under the carbon reduction labeling system, when the investment costs for emission reduction are low, the carbon footprint labeling system is more favorable in terms of consumer surplus and social welfare. However, this advantage gradually diminishes as the investment costs for emission reduction increase. (4) Excessive investment costs for emission reduction are detrimental to the implementation of both carbon reduction and carbon footprint labeling systems. The research conclusions suggest that companies should develop appropriate production strategies based on actual circumstances. Additionally, it is necessary for both the government and companies to reduce investment costs in emissions reductions by improving the system and optimizing emission reduction methods in order to better implement carbon labeling policies.

What Breast Cancer Screening Program do Rural Women Prefer? A Discrete Choice Experiment in Jiangsu, China.

Chinese rural women aged 35-64 years are encouraged to complete breast cancer screening (BCS) free of charge. However, it is challenging to reach a satisfying BCS uptake rate. In this study, rural women's preferences and preferences heterogeneity were measured for the development of strategies to enhance participation in BCS. A cross-sectional survey with a discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted via convenience sampling via face-to-face interviews in Jiangsu, China. Six DCE attributes were identified through a systematic literature review; our previous study of Chinese rural women's BCS intentions; a qualitative work involving in-depth interviews with rural women (n = 13), medical staff (n = 4), and health care managers (n = 2); and knowledge of realistic and actionable policy. The D-efficient design was generated using Ngene 1.3.0. A mixed logit model (MXL) in Stata 18.0 was used to estimate the main effect of attribute levels on rural women's preferences. The relative importance and willingness to utilize BCS services (WTU) were also estimated. The heterogeneous preferences were analyzed by a latent class model (LCM). Sociodemographic status was used to predict the characteristics of class membership. The WTU for different classes was also calculated. A total of 451 rural women, aged 35-64 years, were recruited. The MXL results revealed that the screening interval (SI) was the most important attribute for rural women with regard to utilizing BCS services, followed by the level of screening, the attitude of medical staff, ways to get knowledge and information, people who recommend screening, and time spent on screening (TSS). Rural women preferred a BCS service with a shorter TSS; access to knowledge and information through multiple approaches; a shorter SI; a recommendation from medical staff or workers from the village or community, and others; the enthusiasm of medical staff; and medical staff with longer tenures in the field. Two classes named "process driven" and "efficiency driven" were identified by the preference heterogeneity analysis of the LCM. There is a higher uptake of breast cancer screening when servicesare tailored to women's preferences. The screening interval was the most important attribute for rural women in China with a preference for a yearly screening interval versus longer intervals.

Heterogeneous beliefs with preference interdependence and asset pricing

We study the equilibrium implications of heterogeneous beliefs and preference interdependence on the dynamics of asset prices and the resulting market behaviors. For the purpose of capturing the preference interdependence, we allow each investor’s utility not only depends their own terminal wealth, but also depends on the other one’s. We show that the preference interdependence generates a form of “herding behavior”, that induces the investors’ beliefs to coverage with each other. Therefore, the degree of the influences of the heterogeneous beliefs is attenuated. We also present that the heterogeneous beliefs impose negative effects on the prices of stocks and call options, whereas generate positive effects on the prices of put options. Due to the attenuation effect, the preference interdependence can have a strong promoting effect on the prices of stocks and call options and a strong depressing effect on the prices of put options. Furthermore, the attenuation effect also imposes a strong depressing effect on the volatilities of stocks even there exists high degree of heterogeneous beliefs among the investors. Finally, we present that both the heterogeneous beliefs and the preference interdependence can result in co-movement between stock and option markets.

Insights into preferences for irrigation pumps in West Bengal: An application of best‐worst‐scaling

AbstractThis paper presents an analysis of the heterogeneous preferences of farmers towards groundwater pump technologies. The research uses primary field data drawn from West Bengal, India, where the progressive feminisation of agriculture has been well‐documented. We employ a paired comparison technique to explore how gender impacts the preferences towards different attributes of pumping technology. Our findings illustrate that preferences for irrigation pump attributes vary significantly between farmer groups, and policies that put technologies in the hands of some groups versus others could have significantly different impacts on how pumps are ultimately used.

Who is willing to pay a premium for leafy greens produced by indoor agriculture? A comparative choice experiment with US consumers

AbstractIndoor agriculture (IA) presents a pathway to producing leafy greens more sustainably by strictly controlling the growing environment, increasing the efficiency of water and land resources use, reducing pesticide application, and enhancing quality characteristics. However, the commercial success of adopting this production method depends on the technology's widespread consumer acceptance paired with a price premium for the improved quality it provides. This paper characterizes American consumer preferences for leafy greens, reports a positive WTP for leafy green attributes, and estimates how consumer attitudes toward IA affect their leafy green choices. The findings are drawn from an online survey of over 2000 US leafy green consumers conducted in 2021. The respondents faced a hypothetical discrete choice experiment (DCE) designed to simulate purchasing leafy green produce. The alternatives presented in the DCE varied over production systems (IA, field farming, or greenhouses) and quality levels (taste, freshness, nutrient level, and food safety). Estimates identify significant preference heterogeneity for leafy green attributes and facilitate classifying consumers into three preference‐based groups: “Quality Seekers,” “Price Conscious,” and “Focused Practicals.” Preference variation is significantly greater for production methods than quality characteristics, indicating nascent production method preferences. Results suggest most US consumers view IA positively; however, WTP estimates vary significantly between consumer segments [EconLit Citations: D12, D13].

Understanding Clinician Preferences for Treatment Attributes in Oncology: A Discrete Choice Experiment of Oncologists' and Urologists' Preferences for First-Line Treatment of Locally Advanced/Unresectable Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma in Five European Countries.

Prior discrete choice experiments (DCE) in oncology found that, on average, clinicians rank survival as the most important treatment attribute. We investigate heterogeneity in clinician preferences within the context of first-line treatment for advanced urothelial carcinoma in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and the UK. The online DCE included 12 treatment choice tasks, each comparing two hypothetical therapy profiles defined by treatment attributes: grade 3/4 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs), induction and maintenance administration schedules, progression-free survival, and overall survival (OS). We used a random parameters logit model to estimate attribute relative importance (RI) (0-100%) and generate preference shares for four treatment profiles. Results were stratified by country. Preference heterogeneity was evaluated by latent class analysis. In August and September 2022, 498 clinicians (343 oncologists and 155 urologists) completed the DCE. OS had the strongest influence on clinicians' preferences [RI = 62%; range, 51.6% (Germany) to 63.7% (Spain)] followed by frequency of grade 3/4 TRAEs (RI = 27%). Among treatment profiles, the chemotherapy plus immune checkpoint inhibitor maintenance therapy profile had the largest preference share [51%; range, 38% (Italy) to 56% (UK)]. Four latent classes of clinicians were identified (N = 469), with different treatment profile preferences: survival class (30.1%), trade-off class (22.4%), no strong preference class (40.9%), and aggressive treatment class (6.6%). OS was not the most important attribute for 30.0% of clinicians. While average sample results were consistent with those of prior DCEs, this study found heterogeneity in clinician preferences within and across countries, highlighting the diversity in clinician decision making in oncology.