Using conjoint analysis to estimate healthy-year equivalents for acute conditions: an application to vasomotor symptoms.
OBJECTIVE
Conventional standard gamble and time trade-off methods may be inappropriate for eliciting preferences for some health states because both require subjects to make trade-offs between a morbid health state and death. Thus, the objective of this study is to demonstrate the use of conjoint analysis to obtain time trade-off estimates of healthy-year equivalents (HYEs) for clinically relevant durations and severities of acute, self-limiting, or nonfatal conditions such as vasomotor symptoms.


METHODS
A self-administered, web-enabled, graded-pairs conjoint-analysis survey was developed to elicit women's preferences for reducing the frequency and severity of vasomotor symptoms (daytime hot flushes and night sweats). Observed trade-offs between symptom duration and symptom relief were used to calculate HYEs for different severities and durations of vasomotor symptoms.


RESULTS
A total of 523 women with a mean age of 52 years completed the survey. For these women, an improvement from severe to moderate vasomotor symptoms yields a gain of 4.44 HYEs, and an improvement from moderate to mild vasomotor symptoms over 1 year yields a gain of 4.62 HYEs over a period of 7 years. HYE gains for symptom relief are larger for younger women than for older women.


CONCLUSIONS
Conjoint analysis is a feasible method for estimating HYEs for acute, self-limiting, or nonfatal conditions. This approach may provide an alternative utility-elicitation method when conventional standard gamble and time trade-off methods are inappropriate to the decision context.
Johnson
F Reed
FR
RTI Health Solutions, RTP, NC 27709-2194, USA.
Hauber
A Brett
AB
Ozdemir
Semra
S
D001294:Attitude to Health; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D019584:Hot Flashes / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years