title: Women's and healthcare professionals' preferences for prenatal testing: a discrete choice experiment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study evaluates pregnant women's and healthcare professionals' preferences regarding specific prenatal screening and diagnostic test characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  A discrete choice experiment was developed to assess preferences for prenatal tests that differed in seven attributes: minimal gestational age, time to test results, level of information, detection rate, false positive rate, miscarriage risk and costs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The questionnaire was completed by 596 (70.2%) pregnant women and 297 (51.7%) healthcare professionals, of whom 507 (85.1%) and 283 (95.3%), respectively, were included in further analyses as their choice behavior indicated prenatal testing was an option to them. Comparison of results showed differences in relative importance attached to attributes, further reflected by differences in willingness to trade between attributes. Pregnant women are willing to accept a less accurate test to obtain more information on fetal chromosomal status or to exclude the risk of procedure-related miscarriage. Healthcare professionals consider level of information and miscarriage risk to be most important as well but put more emphasis on timing and accuracy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pregnant women and healthcare professionals differ significantly in their preferences regarding prenatal test characteristics. Healthcare professionals should take these differences into consideration when counseling pregnant women on prenatal testing.
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Lean
authors: L
authors: Beulen
authors: Department for Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Janneke P C
authors: JP
authors: Grutters
authors: Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Brigitte H W
authors: BH
authors: Faas
authors: Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Ilse
authors: I
authors: Feenstra
authors: Department for Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Hans
authors: H
authors: Groenewoud
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: John M G
authors: JM
authors: van Vugt
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Mireille N
authors: MN
authors: Bekker
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000209:etiology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002755:Choice Behavior; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008880:Midwifery; D009774:Obstetrics; D057240:Patient Preference; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult