Time Trade-off Preference Research Articles

Health state utilities for metastatic breast cancer in Taiwan

BackgroundNew developments in medications for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) can be of great benefit to patients, but unfortunately these medicines also increase expenditures. Cost-utility analyses (CUAs) are needed to allocate health resources properly, and health utility values are required to calculate quality-adjusted life years in those CUAs. ObjectiveThe aims of this study were to measure health utility values for several MBC-related health states and certain breast cancer treatment-related grade 3/4 adverse drug reactions (ADRs). In addition, we examined whether different methods and respondents’ characteristics would influence the utility values elicited. MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted. The visual analogue scale (VAS) and time trade-off (TTO) methods were used to measure health utilities. Four MBC and nine ADR health states were selected for evaluation based on literature review and expert opinion. Information about respondents’ demographic and clinical characteristics were collected to examine the relationship between utilities and participant characteristics. ResultsA total of 102 patients participated in this study. The TTO-elicited values were higher than the VAS-derived scores except for two MBC-related health states. Among the MBC health states assessed, the TTO preference score ranged from 0.04 (palliative MBC) to 0.62 (responding MBC). For grade 3/4 ADRs, the mean TTO-derived utility values ranged from 0.35 (nausea/vomiting) to 0.79 (fatigue). The ranking of the preference scores derived from the VAS was similar to that of the TTO-elicited scores. ConclusionThis study obtained health state utility values for MBC and grade 3/4 ADRs using both the TTO and the VAS, which provides useful data for future CUAs.

PNS237 TIME TRADE-OFF TARIFFS BASED ON SF-12 QUESTIONNAIRE

EQ-5D and SF-6D are among commonly used preference based health utility measures; however, the same individual often scores different values for these indexes. Besides being generated from different questionnaires, these utility indexes differ by the methods that the preference-based weights are elicited. EQ-5D weights are based on time trade-off and SF-6D weights are based on the standard gamble method. The objective of this research is to develop the time trade-off tariffs based on SF-12 questionnaire. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a US based general population survey was used in this analysis. The 2003 MEPS sample has 19,678 adults with valid EQ-5D and SF-12 version 2 questionnaire responses. Both questionnaires were administered via a paper and pencil self-administered questionnaire to adults age 18 and older. US tariffs-based EQ-5D index was regressed on individual level responses of SF-12 questionnaire and socio-demographic variables. OLS, CLAD and modified maximum likelihood Tobit models were used. Restricted regression was use to limit the constant of the regression to 1, which allows reflect the actual construction of EQ-5D index. The SF-12 questionnaire variables explain 78% (R-square from OLS = 0.7840) of variations in EQ-5D. The remaining socio-demographic variables add negligent (<1%) explanatory power to the model. In most cases, the developed tariffs have consistent signs and magnitudes. Response to questions “pain limits normal work” and “felt downhearted/depressed” had the biggest negative tariffs. -0.2018 (p=0.00) and -0.1195 (p=0.00) for “pain limits normal work” extremely and quite a bit responses respectively, and -0.1297 (p=0.00) for “felt downhearted/depressed” all of the time response. This study provided time trade-off tariffs for each domain of SF-12 questionnaire. These tariffs can be used in cost-effectiveness analysis in situations when time trade-off preferences are preferred to standard gamble preferences.

Latent Class Models Reveal Poor Agreement between Discrete-Choice and Time Tradeoff Preferences.

Background. In health economics, there has been interest in using discrete-choice experiments (DCEs) to derive preferences for health states in lieu of previously established approaches like time tradeoff (TTO). We examined whether preferences elicited through DCEs are associated and agree with preferences elicited through TTO tasks. Methods. We used data from 1073 respondents to the Canadian EQ-5D-5L valuation study. Multivariate mixed-effects models specified a common likelihood for the TTO and discrete-choice data, with separate but correlated random effects for the TTO and DCE data, for each of the 5 EQ-5D-5L dimensions. Multivariate latent class models allowed separate but associated latent classes for the DCE and TTO data. Results. Correlation between the random effects for the 2 tasks ranged from -0.12 to 0.75, with only pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression having at least a 50% posterior probability of strong (>0.6) correlation. Latent classes for the TTO and DCE data both featured 1 latent class capturing participants attaching large disutilities to pain/discomfort, another capturing participants attaching large disutility to anxiety/depression, and the third class capturing the remainder. Agreement in class membership was poor (κ coefficient: 0.081; 95% credible interval, 0.033-0.13). Fewer respondents expressed strong disutilities for problems with anxiety/depression or pain/discomfort in the TTO than the DCE data (17% v. 55%, respectively). Conclusions. Stated preferences using TTO and DCEs show association across dimensions but poor agreement at the level of individual health states within respondents. Joint models that assume agreement between DCE and TTO have been used to develop national value sets for the EQ-5D-5L. This work indicates that when combining data from both techniques, methods requiring association but not agreement are needed.

Social preferences for health states associated with acute myeloid leukemia for patients undergoing treatment in the United Kingdom

BackgroundHealth state (HS) utility values for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a hematological malignancy, are not available in the United Kingdom (UK). This study aims to develop clinically sound HSs for previously untreated patients with AML and to assign utility values based on preferences of the general UK population.MethodsThis study was conducted in the UK and comprised 2 stages. During the first stage, AML HSs were drafted based on evidence from a literature review of AML clinical and health-related quality-of-life studies (published January 2000–June 2016) and patient-reported outcome measures previously used in this population. A panel of UK hematologists with AML experience validated the clinical relevance and accuracy of the HSs. During the second stage, validated HSs were valued in an elicitation survey with a representative UK population sample using the time trade-off (TTO) method. Descriptive statistics and bivariate tests were obtained and performed.ResultsA total of eight HSs were developed and clinically validated, including treatment with chemotherapy, consolidation therapy, transplant, graft-vs-host disease (GvHD), remission, relapse, refractory, and functionally cured. In total, 125 adults participated (mean age, 49.6 years [range, 18–87 years], 52.8% female). Mean (95% confidence interval [CI]) TTO preference values (n = 120), ranked from lowest (worst HS) to highest (best HS) were as follows: refractory − 0.11 (− 0.21 to − 0.01), relapse 0.10 (0.00–0.20), transplant 0.28 (0.20–0.37), treatment with chemotherapy 0.36 (0.28–0.43), GvHD 0.43 (0.36–0.50), consolidation 0.46 (0.40–0.53), remission 0.62 (0.57–0.67), and functionally cured 0.76 (0.72–0.79). Mean (95% CI) visual analog scale preference values followed the same rank order, ranging from 0.15 (0.13–0.17) for refractory to 0.71 (0.68–0.73) for functionally cured.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study to report utility values for AML from the UK societal perspective. Participants were able to distinguish differences in severity among AML HSs, and preference values were consistent with clinical perception of HS severity. HS preference values observed in this study may be useful in future evaluations of treatment benefit, including cost-effectiveness analyses and improved patient well-being.

PP1 - Patients’ And Physicians’ Time Trade-Off Preferences For Adverse Outcomes Associated With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treatments

PP1 - Patients’ And Physicians’ Time Trade-Off Preferences For Adverse Outcomes Associated With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treatments

Utility values for chronic myelogenous leukemia chronic phase health states from the general public in the United Kingdom

This study estimated time trade-off preference values associated with the four chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) chronic phase-related health states (i.e. untreated, hematologic response, cytogenetic response and molecular response) among members of the general public in the UK (n = 241). All four health states were associated with decreases in preference values from full health. The molecular response to treatment was the most preferred health state (mean utility of 0.94). The second-most preferred health state was cytogenetic response followed by hematologic response (mean utilities were 0.89 and 0.80, respectively). The least preferred health state was untreated chronic phase CML (mean utility of 0.72). The utility values for each state were significantly different from one another (p < 0.001). This study demonstrated and quantified the impact that more robust treatment responses have on the health-related quality of life of patients with chronic phase CML.

Are Australians willing to be treated by a physician assistant?

Background: Physician assistants (PAs) are deployed to extend the role of the general practitioner and other doctors in Canada, England, Scotland, The Netherlands, the United States and elsewhere. Because Australians have little experience with this type of provider, we undertook a study to test the willingness of patients to be treated by a PA. Method: A time trade-off preference survey was administered to women naive about PAs in Northern Queensland in 2009. Each survey described one of three scenarios of injury and asked the patient to make a decision between waiting four hours for a doctor or one hour for a PA. Results: A total of 229 candidate patients unconditionally participated (225 met criteria). Two-thirds were between the ages of 20 & 35 years. All but two of the participants (99%) selected to be treated by the PA regardless of the scenario. When choices of time differences between a doctor and a PA were reduced to 2 hours and 1 hour, respectively, the preferential choice of seeing the PA persisted. Conclusion: Australian women in Northern Queensland were willing to be treated by a PA as a theoretical construct and without actual experience or knowledge of PAs. The familiar doctor care was traded for that of a PA when access to care was more available. Developing PAs in Australian society may be practical and patient attitudes more accepting, than realized. The concept of willingness to be treated has utility in socioeconomic research.

A Multinational Study of Health State Preference Values Associated with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

Objectives Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a progressive, largely fatal cancer. Emerging treatments may prolong life; however, these result in additional monetary costs. Accurate estimation of their economic impact requires reliable estimates on preferences for health states. The purpose was to estimate preference weights from the general population in four developed countries for standardized health states experienced by persons with CML. Methods Time trade-off preferences with a 10-year time horizon were elicited for CML-related health states using an interviewer-administered survey from convenience samples in Canada (n = 103), the United States (n = 74), the UK (n = 97), and Australia (n = 79). Standardized descriptions of seven CML-related health states (characterizing chronic, accelerated and blast phases, each with responding and nonresponding state, and adverse events of treatment) were derived in consultation with oncologists. Generalized linear models were used to estimate whether utilities, adjusted for age and sex, differed by country. Results The mean age of the sample (n = 357) was 45 years and 46% were male. Mean unadjusted preference values of CML-related health states ranged from 0.84 for “Chronic phase responding to treatment” to 0.21 for “Blast phase, not responding to treatment.” For each phase, preferences were lower for the nonresponding state. After adjustment for age and sex, considerable variability was observed in mean preference values between countries. Conclusion These data quantify the deteriorating impact of CML disease progression and the impact of nonresponse to treatment. The study results add to evidence from other disease areas that systematic differences exist in preference values between countries.

Patient preferences for chemoradiation-related side effects

e20604 Background: Patients (pts) undergoing chemoradiation (CRT) face intense treatment (tx) schedules and adverse tx- related side-effects (SEs). We conducted this study to determine whether pts’ preferences (PREFs) for CRT-related SEs changed over tx duration. Methods: We used the visual analog scale (VAS) and modified time trade-off (TTO) to assess PREFs of newly diagnosed pts with gynecologic (GYN) and gastrointestinal (GI) cancers scheduled to receive CRT. Pts evaluated 16 SE health state scenarios during interviews conducted at 3 points in time: T1=prior to starting CRT; T2=2–3 weeks after starting CRT; and T3=4–6 weeks after completing CRT. Using the VAS, pts ranked SEs on a scale of 0=worst to 100=best. The TTO asked pts whether they would accept a hypothetical tx for a specified time with the SE in question or a tx for a shorter length of time that involved a worse SE profile. PREF scores were converted to 0.0=least preferred to 1.0=most preferred. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to analyze data. P- values were adjusted for multiple comparisons. Results: PREFs were collected from 93 pts (GYN=43; GI=50). 46/93 pts were female (3 women were GI pts). Median age was 53.7 yrs. Pts received a median of 5 chemo cycles (31/50 GI and all GYN pts received platinum) and 5.4 wks of external beam radiation. Median time between T1-T2 was 2.6 wks and T2-T3 was 9.1 wks. TTO PREFs were stable over time regardless of disease group or tx regimen. VAS scores for 7 SEs worsened significantly after initiation of CRT and remained low despite completion of CRT ( table ). Pts gave low baseline PREF scores for diarrhea, fatigue, and loss of appetite; these did not change significantly over time. Conclusions: Pts receiving CRT were willing to accept tx of longer duration with less severe SEs instead of shorter tx with more severe SEs. Relative to other SEs, pts rated GI-associated SEs lower after initiation of CRT. Ratings remained low 4–6 weeks after tx completion. Further studies are needed to determine whether pts’ experiences with and perceptions of SEs influence tx compliance. [Table: see text] [Table: see text]

Breast cancer-related preferences among women with and without BRCA mutations

Preference ratings are used to quantify quality of life in analyses used for health care policy making. Subjects indicated how many years of their life expectancy they would trade to avoid BRCA mutations, breast/ovarian cancer, and five preventive measures including prophylactic surgery, annual mammograms, and annual magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Among 243 respondents, both the 83 women with mutations and the 160 controls rated mammography highest (most favorably), MRI next highest, having a child with a mutation lowest, and ovarian cancer next lowest. Controls rated prophylactic surgery higher than cancer (P < 0.01), but women with mutations did not. In logistic regression, controls were twice as willing as women with mutations to trade time except for screening modalities; younger, lower-income, and non-white women were more willing to trade time than older, higher-income, and white women. Our findings support the use of average-risk individuals' time trade-off preference ratings for health care policy development.

Disability Adjusted Life Years and minimal disease: application of a preference-based relevance criterion to rank enteric pathogens

BackgroundBurden of disease estimates, which combine mortality and morbidity into a single measure, are used increasingly for priority setting in disease control, prevention and surveillance. However, because there is no clear exclusion criterion for highly prevalent minimal disease in burden of disease studies its application may be restricted. The aim of this study was to apply a newly developed relevance criterion based on preferences of a population panel, and to compare burden of disease estimates of five foodborne pathogens calculated with and without application of this criterion.MethodsPreferences for twenty health states associated with foodborne disease were obtained from a population panel (n = 107) with the Visual Analogue Scale and the Time Trade-off (TTO) technique. The TTO preferences were used to derive the relevance criterion: if at least 50% of a panel of judges is willing to trade-off time in order to be restored to full health the health state is regarded as relevant, i.e. TTO median is greater than 0. Subsequently, the burden of disease of each of the five foodborne pathogens was calculated both with and without the relevance criterion.ResultsThe panel ranked the health states consistently. Of the twenty health states, three did not meet the preference-based relevance criterion. Application of the relevance criterion reduced the burden of disease estimate of all five foodborne pathogens. The reduction was especially significant for norovirus and rotavirus, decreasing with 94% and 78% respectively.ConclusionIndividual preferences elicited with the TTO from a population panel can be used to empirically derive a relevance criterion for burden of disease estimates. Application of this preference-based relevance criterion results in considerable changes in ranking of foodborne pathogens.

Community or patient preferences for cost-effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation: does it matter?

Few healthcare economic evaluations, and none in cardiac rehabilitation, report results based on both community and patient preferences for health outcomes. We published the results of a randomized trial of cardiac rehabilitation after myocardial infarction in 1994 in which preferences were measured using both perspectives but only patient preferences were reported. This secondary analysis uses both types of preference measurements. We collected community Quality of Well-Being (QWB) and patient Time Trade-off (TTO) preference scores from 188 patients (rehabilitation, n=93; usual care, n=95) on entry into the trial, at 2 months (end of the intervention) and again at 4, 8, and 12 months. Mean preference scores over the 12-month follow-up study period, estimates of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained per patient, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios [costs inflated to 2006 US dollars] and probabilities of the cost-effectiveness of rehabilitation for costs per QALY up to USD100,000 are reported. Mean QWB preference scores were lower (P<0.01) than the corresponding mean TTO preference scores at each assessment point. The 12-month changes in mean QWB and TTO preference scores were large and positive (P<0.001) with rehabilitation patients gaining a mean of 0.011 (95% confidence interval, -0.030 to +0.052) more QWB-derived QALYs, and 0.040 (-0.026, 0.107) more TTO-derived QALYs, per patient than usual care patients. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for QWB-derived QALYs was estimated at $60 270/QALY (about euro50 600/QALY) and at $16 580/QALY (about euro13 900/QALY) with TTO-derived QALYs. With a willingness to spend $100 000/QALY, the probability of rehabilitation being cost-effective is 0.58 for QWB-derived QALYs and 0.83 for TTO-derived QALYs. This secondary analysis of data from a randomized trial indicates that cardiac rehabilitation is cost-effective from a community perspective and highly cost-effective from the perspective of patients.

Process Utility in Breast Biopsy

To determine whether the waiting trade-off (WTO) is feasible for differentiating short-term biopsy preferences in an acute situation where anxiety is the symptomatic disease state. 75 women with past experience of either breast core-needle biopsy (CNB), more invasive excisional surgical biopsy (EXB), or both, had telephone WTO assessments. Patients' baseline and test-related anxiety were valued by time trade-off (TTO) used to scale the WTO. Rating scales (RS) were obtained for convergent validity assessment with WTO and TTO. Data were obtained in 38 women who had both CNB and EXB ("paired") and 20 who had CNB only and 16 who had EXB only ("unpaired"). Patients rated only the procedure(s) they experienced. Median paired and mean unpaired WTO scores indicated patients were willing to wait significantly longer to avoid EXB (P = 0.0003, P = 0.0002, respectively). The waiting time difference between EXB and CNB was 2.1 weeks greater in unpaired data than paired data. RS scores comparing the procedures were significantly different only for paired data (P < 0.05). Median TTO preferences for baseline (1.00) and test anxiety (0.93) obtained in 74 patients were significantly different (P < 0.0001) and consistent with RS. Correlation was noted between WTO and RS (-0.307 to -0.453, P = 0.0205 to 0.0001). The median EXB quality-adjusted life years toll (1.5 quality-adjusted life days) calculated from pooled WTO data (paired and unpaired) from 54 patients is near a threshold in a published model. The WTO is feasible for discriminating preferences for short-term health states in an acute medical scenario where it might have been expected to be impracticable.

Using Preference-Based Measures to Assess Quality of Life in Stuttering

The purpose of this study was to determine whether standard pharmaco-economic preference methods can be used to assess perceived quality of life in stuttering. Seventy-five nonstuttering adults completed a standardized face-to-face interview that included a rating scale, standard gamble, and time trade-off preference measures for 4 health states (your health and mild, moderate, and severe stuttering) in the context of 2 anchor states (perfect health and death). Results showed mean utility values between .443 for severe stuttering estimated using the rating scale technique and .982 for respondents' own current health estimated using a standard gamble technique. A two-way repeated measures analysis of variance and post hoc tests showed significant effects for method, health state, and the interaction. These results confirm that utility estimates can differentiate between stuttering severity levels and that utility scores for stuttering conform to the known properties of data obtained using these standard measurement techniques. These techniques, therefore, can and should be further investigated as potential contributors to complete measurement protocols for the study and treatment of stuttering.

Outcomes of tamoxifen chemoprevention for breast cancer in very high-risk women: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

To estimate the effects on survival, quality-adjusted survival, and health care costs of using tamoxifen for primary prevention in subgroups of women at very high risk for breast cancer. A decision analysis was performed using a hypothetical cohort of women that included subgroups with atypical hyperplasia, Gail risk greater than 5, lobular carcinoma-in-situ, or two or more first-degree relatives with breast cancer. Data sources were the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial, the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results program, time trade-off preference ratings, the Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, and the United States Health Care Financing Administration. Our model predicted that tamoxifen would prolong the average survival of cohort members initiating use at ages 35, 50, and 60 years by 70, 42, and 27 days, respectively. It would prolong survival even more for those in the higher-risk groups, especially those with atypical hyperplasia (202, 89, and 45 days). Tamoxifen use was also projected to extend quality-adjusted survival by 158, 80, and 50 days in the atypical hyperplasia group. For younger women in the highest risk groups, chemoprevention with tamoxifen was estimated to have cost savings or be cost-effective, both with and without quality adjustments. Chemoprevention with tamoxifen may be particularly beneficial to women with atypical hyperplasia, 5-year Gail model risk greater than 5%, lobular carcinoma-in-situ, or two or more first-degree relatives with breast cancer. The benefits may be greater if tamoxifen is initiated before age 50 years rather than after and if the breast cancer risk reduction conferred by tamoxifen lasts longer than 5 years. For women with a very high risk of invasive breast cancer, chemoprevention with tamoxifen seems to be cost-effective.

Outcomes of Tamoxifen Chemoprevention for Breast Cancer in Very High-Risk Women: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

PURPOSE: To estimate the effects on survival, quality-adjusted survival, and health care costs of using tamoxifen for primary prevention in subgroups of women at very high risk for breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A decision analysis was performed using a hypothetical cohort of women that included subgroups with atypical hyperplasia, Gail risk greater than 5, lobular carcinoma-in-situ, or two or more first-degree relatives with breast cancer. Data sources were the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial, the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results program, time trade-off preference ratings, the Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, and the United States Health Care Financing Administration. RESULTS: Our model predicted that tamoxifen would prolong the average survival of cohort members initiating use at ages 35, 50, and 60 years by 70, 42, and 27 days, respectively. It would prolong survival even more for those in the higher-risk groups, especially those with atypical hyperplasia (202, 89, and 45 days)....

A multi-attribute model of prostate cancer patient's preferences for health states.

Multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) provides a way to model decisions involving trade-offs among different aspects or goals of a problem. We used MAUT to model prostate cancer patients' preferences for their own health state and we compared this model to patients' global judgments of health state utility. 57 patients with prostate cancer (mean age = 70) at two Chicago Veterans Administration health clinics were asked to evaluate health states described in terms of five health attributes affected by prostate cancer: pain, mood, sexual function, bladder and bowel function, and fatigue and energy. Each attribute had three levels that were used to form three clinically realistic health state descriptions (A = high, B = moderate, C = low). A fourth personalized health description (P) matched the patient's current health. We first measured patients' preferences using time trade-off (TTO) judgments for the three health states (A, B, and C) and for their own current health state (P). The TTO for the patient's own health state (P) was standardized by comparing it to TTO judgments for states A and C. We next constructed a multi-attribute model using the relative importance of the five attributes. The MAU scores were moderately correlated with the TTO preference judgments for the personalized state (Pearson r = 0.38, N = 57, p < 0.01). Thus, patients' preference judgments are moderately consistent and systematic. MAUT appears to be a potentially feasible method for evaluating preferences of prostate cancer patients and may prove helpful in assisting with patient decision making.

Economic evaluation of cardiac rehabilitation soon after acute myocardial infarction

Although there are extensive clinical evaluations of cardiac rehabilitation after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), no full economic evaluation is available. Patients with AMI and mild to moderate anxiety or depression, or both, while still in hospital were randomized to either an 8-week rehabilitation intervention (n = 99) or usual care (n = 102). Comprehensive costs and health-related quality of life, measured with the time trade-off preference score, were obtained in a 12-month trial, and together with survival data derived from published meta-analyses, cost-utility and cost-effectiveness of early cardiac rehabilitation were estimated. The best estimate of the incremental net direct 12-month costs for patients randomized to rehabilitation was $480 (United States, 1991)/ patient. During 1-year follow-up, rehabilitation patients had fewer “other rehabilitation visits” (p < 0.0001) and gained 0.052 quality-adjusted life-year more than did the group with usual care. The cost-utility ratio was $9,200/quality-adjusted life-year gained with cardiac rehabilitation during the year of follow-up. This economic evaluation of cardiac rehabilitation does not consider the important distinctions between affordabiltty and worth of alternative health-care services. The data provide evidence that brief cardiac rehabilitation initiated soon after AMI for patients with mild to moderate anxiety or depression, or both, is an efficient use of health-care resources and may be economically justified.