Dataset Information

Healthcare Worker Preferences for Active Tuberculosis Case Finding Programs in South Africa: A Best-Worst Scaling Choice Experiment.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Healthcare workers (HCWs) in South Africa are at a high risk of developing active tuberculosis (TB) due to their occupational exposures. This study aimed to systematically quantify and compare the preferred attributes of an active TB case finding program for HCWs in South Africa.

Methods

A Best-Worst Scaling choice experiment estimated HCW's preferences using a random-effects conditional logit model. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to explore heterogeneity in preferences.

Results

"No cost", "the assurance of confidentiality", "no wait" and testing at the occupational health unit at one's hospital were the most preferred attributes. LCA identified a four class model with consistent differences in preference strength. Sex, occupation, and the time since a previous TB test were statistically significant predictors of class membership.

Conclusions

The findings support the strengthening of occupational health units in South Africa to offer free and confidential active TB case finding programs for HCWs with minimal wait times. There is considerable variation in active TB case finding preferences amongst HCWs of different gender, occupation, and testing history. Attention to heterogeneity in preferences should optimize screening utilization of target HCW populations.

SUBMITTER: O'Hara NN

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4511419 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Healthcare Worker Preferences for Active Tuberculosis Case Finding Programs in South Africa: A Best-Worst Scaling Choice Experiment.

O'Hara Nathan N NN Roy Lilla L O'Hara Lyndsay M LM Spiegel Jerry M JM Lynd Larry D LD FitzGerald J Mark JM Yassi Annalee A Nophale Letshego E LE Marra Carlo A CA

PloS one 20150721 7

<h4>Objective</h4>Healthcare workers (HCWs) in South Africa are at a high risk of developing active tuberculosis (TB) due to their occupational exposures. This study aimed to systematically quantify and compare the preferred attributes of an active TB case finding program for HCWs in South Africa.<h4>Methods</h4>A Best-Worst Scaling choice experiment estimated HCW's preferences using a random-effects conditional logit model. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to explore heterogeneity in prefer ...[more]

PMID: 26197344

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Project description:PurposeStudies on healthy lifestyle interventions in survivors of colorectal cancer have been disappointing, demonstrating only modest changes. This study aims to quantify people's preferences for different aspects of dietary intervention.MethodA best-worst discrete choice experiment was designed and incorporated into a questionnaire including participants' characteristics and a self-assessment of lifestyle.ResultsThe response rate was 68% and 179 questionnaires were analysed. When analysing aggregate preferences, the modes of information provision selected as the most preferred were "face-to-face" (willingness to pay (WTP) £63.97, p ? 0.001) and "telephone" (WTP £62.36, p < 0.001) discussions whereas group discussions were preferred least (WTP -£118.96, p ? 0.001). Scenarios that included hospitals were most preferred (WTP £17.94, p = 0.031), and the favoured provider was bowel cancer nurses (WTP £75.11, p ? 0.001). When investigating preference heterogeneity, three sub-groups were identified: Firstly, "technophiles" preferring email (WTP £239.60, p ? 0.001) were male, were younger and had fewer risk factors. Secondly, a "one-to-one" group had strong preference for interventions over the telephone or at their local doctors and were older (WTP £642.13, p ? 0.001). Finally, a "person-centred" group preferred face-to-face individual or group sessions (WTP £358.79, p < 0.001) and had a high risk lifestyle.ConclusionFor survivors of colorectal cancer, there is not one approach that suits all when it comes to providing dietary advice.Implications for cancer survivorsThis is important information to consider when planning healthy lifestyle interventions which include dietary advice for survivors of colorectal cancer. Aligning services to individuals' preferences has the potential to improve patient experience and outcomes by increasing uptake of healthy lifestyle advice services and promoting a more tailored approach to dietary modifications, acknowledging sub-groups of people within the total population of colorectal cancer survivors.

Project description:ObjectiveThis article employs a best-worst scaling (BWS) experiment to identify the claims-based outcomes that matter most to patients and other relevant parties when evaluating pediatric antipsychotic monitoring programs in the United States.Data sourcesPatients and relevant parties, with pediatric antipsychotic oversight and treatment experience, completed a BWS experiment, including policymakers (n = 31), foster care alumni (n = 28), caseworkers (n = 23), prescribing clinicians (n = 32), and caregivers (n = 18).Study designRespondents received surveys with a scenario on antipsychotic monitoring programs and ranked 11 candidate claims-based outcomes as most and least important for program evaluation.Data analysisStratified by respondent group, best-worst scores were calculated to identify the relative importance of the claims-based outcomes. A conditional logit examined whether candidate outcomes for safety, quality, and unintended consequences were preferred over reduction in antipsychotic treatment, the outcome used most often to evaluate antipsychotic monitoring programs.Principal findingsSafety indicators (eg, antipsychotic co-pharmacy, cross-class polypharmacy, higher than recommended doses) ranked among the top three candidate outcomes across respondent groups and were an important complement to antipsychotic treatment reduction. Foster care alumni prioritized "antipsychotic treatment reduction" and "increased psychosocial treatment." Caseworkers, prescribers, and caregivers prioritized "increased follow-up after treatment initiation." Potential unintended consequences of an antipsychotic monitoring program ranked lowest, including increased use of other psychotropic medication classes (as a substitute), increased psychiatric hospital stays, and increased emergency room utilization. Results of the conditional logit model found only caregivers significantly preferred other indicators over antipsychotic treatment reduction, preferring improvements in follow-up care (5.78) and psychosocial treatment (4.53) and reduction in prescriptions of higher than recommended doses (3.64).ConclusionsThe BWS experiment supported rank ordering of candidate claims-based outcomes demonstrating the opportunity for future studies to align outcomes used in antipsychotic monitoring program evaluations with community preferences, specifically by diversifying metrics to include safety and quality indicators.

Project description:Food safety is a global public health issue, which often arises from asymmetric information between consumers and suppliers. With the development of information technology in human life, building a food traceability information sharing platform is viewed as one of the best ways to overcome the trust crisis and resolve the problem of information asymmetry in China. However, among the myriad information available from the food supply chain, there is a lack of knowledge on consumer preference. Based on the best-worst scaling approach, this paper investigated consumer preferences for vegetable, pork, and dairy product traceability information. Specifically, this paper measured the relative importance that consumers place on the traceable information. The results indicate that consumers have varying priorities for information in different cases. "Pesticide/veterinary use," "picking/slaughtering date," and "fertilizer/feed use" are the most preferred traceable information for Chinese consumers in the case of vegetables, while "picking/slaughtering date" and "history of illness and taking protective measures" are the most preferred information in the case of pork. In the case of dairy products, consumers prefer "processing information," "environmental information of the origin," and "traceable tag certification information" most. The results of this study call for the direct involvement of the Chinese government in the food safety information sharing system as following. First, given consumers' diverse preferences, different types of traceable information should be recorded into the information sharing platform depending on food types. Second, the government could promote the step-by-step construction of such a platform based on the priority of consumers' preferences. Third, new technology should be applied to guarantee the reliability of traceable information. Finally, local preferences in terms of the way consumers receive and understand information should be taken into consideration.

Dataset Information

Healthcare Worker Preferences for Active Tuberculosis Case Finding Programs in South Africa: A Best-Worst Scaling Choice Experiment.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Healthcare Worker Preferences for Active Tuberculosis Case Finding Programs in South Africa: A Best-Worst Scaling Choice Experiment.

Similar Datasets

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