title: [Prioritizing patients on waiting list for cataract surgery: preference differences among citizens].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate and compare citizen preferences regarding patient prioritization for cataract surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  A conjoint analysis was performed. Priority criteria were identified and selected using 4 focus/nominal groups consisting of the general public, patients/relatives, allied health-professionals and specialists from Catalonia (n=36). Preferences elicitation (score of criteria): representative sample survey of the above mentioned groups (n=771) and rank-ordered logit model application. Differences were assessed by group analysis and their comparison.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The criteria selected and their relative importance were: visual impairment (45%), difficulty in performing activities of daily living (ADL) (15%), limitation of ability to work (14%), being looked after by someone (11%), being a caregiver (8%), and recovery probability (7%). Differences in scores were observed among groups. Visual impairment was scored more highly by the general public and patients/relatives than by other groups (p<0.001). These two groups also assigned less importance to difficulty in performing ADL (p<0.001). The probability of recovery was the least scored criterion by most groups. Correlations among the order of hypothetical patient scenarios were high (r>0.9). However, the final order of patients on the waiting list could differ by up to 27 positions when different group scores were applied.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Social and clinical criteria were considered important. The observed differences among citizens regarding how to prioritize patients on the waiting lists indicates the need to take into account the preferences of all groups of citizens.
authors.affiliation: Agencia de Evaluación de Tecnología e Investigación Médicas Dirección de Planificación y Evaluación, Departamento de Salud, Generalidad de Cataluña, Barcelona, Spain. lsampietro@catsalut.net
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sampietro-Colom
authors.forename: Mireia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Espallargues
authors.forename: Mercè
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Comas
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Castells
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pinto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018579:Patient Selection; D014850:Waiting Lists