Dataset Information

Changes in public preferences for technologically enhanced surveillance following the COVID-19 pandemic: a discrete choice experiment.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES:As governments attempt to navigate a path out of COVID-19 restrictions, robust evidence is essential to inform requirements for public acceptance of technologically enhanced communicable disease surveillance systems. We examined the value of core surveillance system attributes to the Australian public, before and during the early stages of the current pandemic. DESIGN:A discrete choice experiment was conducted in Australia with a representative group of respondents, before and after the WHO declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. We identified and investigated the relative importance of seven attributes associated with technologically enhanced disease surveillance: respect for personal autonomy; privacy/confidentiality; data certainty/confidence; data security; infectious disease mortality prevention; infectious disease morbidity prevention; and attribution of (causal) responsibility. Specifically, we explored how the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak influenced participant responses. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS:2008 Australians (general public) completed the experiment: 793 before COVID-19 outbreak onset (mean age 45.9 years, 50.2% male) and 1215 after onset (mean age 47.2 years, 49% male). RESULTS:All seven attributes significantly influenced respondents' preferences for communicable disease surveillance systems. After onset, participants demonstrated greater preference for a surveillance system that could prevent a higher number of illnesses and deaths, and were less concerned about their personal autonomy. However, they also increased their preference for a system with high data security. CONCLUSIONS:Public acceptance of technology-based communicable disease surveillance is situation dependent. During an epidemic, there is likely to be greater tolerance of technologically enhanced disease surveillance systems that result in restrictions on personal activity if such systems can prevent high morbidity and mortality. However, this acceptance of lower personal autonomy comes with an increased requirement to ensure data security. These findings merit further research as the pandemic unfolds and strategies are put in place that enable individuals and societies to live with SARS-CoV-2 endemicity.

SUBMITTER: Degeling C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7677347 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Changes in public preferences for technologically enhanced surveillance following the COVID-19 pandemic: a discrete choice experiment.

Degeling Chris C Chen Gang G Gilbert Gwendolyn L GL Brookes Victoria V Thai Thi T Wilson Andrew A Johnson Jane J

BMJ open 20201118 11

<h4>Objectives</h4>As governments attempt to navigate a path out of COVID-19 restrictions, robust evidence is essential to inform requirements for public acceptance of technologically enhanced communicable disease surveillance systems. We examined the value of core surveillance system attributes to the Australian public, before and during the early stages of the current pandemic.<h4>Design</h4>A discrete choice experiment was conducted in Australia with a representative group of respondents, bef ...[more]

PMID: 33208337

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Project description:BackgroundDigital technological development in the last 20 years has led to significant growth in digital collection, use, and sharing of health data. To maintain public trust in the digital society and to enable acceptable policy-making in the future, it is important to investigate people's preferences for sharing digital health data.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to elicit the preferences of the public in different Northern European countries (the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden) for sharing health information in different contexts.MethodsRespondents in this discrete choice experiment completed several choice tasks, in which they were asked if data sharing in the described hypothetical situation was acceptable to them. Latent class logistic regression models were used to determine attribute-level estimates and heterogeneity in preferences. We calculated the relative importance of the attributes and the predicted acceptability for different contexts in which the data were shared from the estimates.ResultsIn the final analysis, we used 37.83% (1967/5199) questionnaires. All attributes influenced the respondents' willingness to share health information (P<.001). The most important attribute was whether the respondents were informed about their data being shared. The possibility of opting out from sharing data was preferred over the opportunity to consent (opt-in). Four classes were identified in the latent class model, and the average probabilities of belonging were 27% for class 1, 32% for class 2, 23% for class 3, and 18% for class 4. The uptake probability varied between 14% and 85%, depending on the least to most preferred combination of levels.ConclusionsRespondents from different countries have different preferences for sharing their health data regarding the value of a review process and the reason for their new use. Offering respondents information about the use of their data and the possibility to opt out is the most preferred governance mechanism.

Project description:BackgroundDeciding on pharmaceutical subsidy is regarded as a challenging issue for healthcare policymakers in Iran in most times. Public preferences, rarely attended in Iran, could be invaluable for including a particular drug in the list of subsidized medications.ObjectivesThe current study aims to elicit the public preferences to develop an evidence-based decision-making framework for entering a drug into the list of subsidies in Iran.MethodsDiscrete Choice Experiment (DCE) was employed to elicit the public preferences. Around 34 attributes were identified based on the systematic review and interview with 51 experts. By holding an expert panel, 7 attributes were finalized, namely: the survival after treatment, quality of life after treatment (QoL), alternative treatment, age group of the target population, cost burden for the government, disease severity, and drug manufacturer country. Next, 1224 households were selected for the survey in the city of Tehran, using random cluster sampling. Data were analyzed using conditional logit model.ResultsThe survival after treatment (β = 1.245; SE = 0.053) and disease severity (β =- 0.143; SE = 0.043) had the highest and lowest priority, respectively, in the preferences for allocating subsidy to a drug. In developed region, unlike the other two regions, the level of domestic drug production (β =- 0.302; SE = 0.073) was inversely associated with preferences toward allocating subsidy to a drug. In contrast to other districts, those living in district number one (β = 2.053; SE = 0.138) gave the highest value to promoting the QoL after treatment.ConclusionsIt is suggested that policymakers pay more attention to attributes such as effectiveness and alternative treatment when developing an evidence-based framework for entering a drug into the list of subsidies. This study highlighted the public belief in the government's subsidy for medicines, provided that, this results in an increased survival and QoL.

Project description:ImportanceEfforts to transform primary care through the medical home model may have limited effectiveness if they do not incorporate families' preferences for different primary care services.ObjectiveTo assess parents' relative preferences for different categories of enhanced access services in primary care.Design, setting, and participantsInternet-based survey that took place with a national online panel from December 8, 2011, to December 22, 2011. Participants included 820 parents of children aged 0 to 17 years. Hispanic and black non-Hispanic parents were each oversampled to 20% of the sample. The survey included a discrete choice experiment with questions that asked parents to choose between hypothetical primary care practices with different levels of enhanced access and other primary care services.Main outcomes and measuresWe estimated parents' relative preferences for different enhanced access services using travel time to the practice as a trade-off and parents' marginal willingness to travel in minutes for practices with different levels of services.ResultsThe response rate of parents who participated in the study was 41.2%. Parents were most likely to choose primary care offices that guaranteed same-day sick visits (coefficient, 0.57 [SE, 0.05]; P < .001) followed by those with higher professional continuity (coefficient, 0.36 [SE, 0.03]; P < .001). Parents were also significantly more likely to choose practices with 24-hour telephone advice plus nonurgent email advice (0.08 [0.04]; P < .05), evening hours 4 or more times a week (0.14 [0.04]; P < .001), and at least some hours on weekends. Parents were significantly less likely to choose practices that were closed during some weekday daytime hours or had wait times longer than 4 weeks for preventive care visits. There was very little variation in preferences among parents with different sociodemographic characteristics. Parents' marginal willingness to travel was 14 minutes (95% CI, 11-16 minutes) for guaranteed same-day sick visits and 44 minutes (95% CI, 37-51 minutes) for an office with idealized levels of all services.Conclusions and relevanceAs primary care practices for children implement aspects of the medical home model, those that emphasize same-day sick care and professional continuity are more likely to meet parents' preferences for enhanced access. Practices should seek to engage families in prioritizing changes in practice services as part of medical home implementation.

Project description:BackgroundThere are increasing examples of linking data on healthcare resource use and patient outcomes from different sectors of health and social care systems. Linked data are generally anonymised, meaning in most jurisdictions there are no legal restrictions to their use in research conducted by public or private organisations. Secondary use of anonymised linked data is contentious in some jurisdictions but other jurisdictions are known for their use of linked data. The publics' perceptions of the acceptability of using linked data is likely to depend on a number of factors. This study aimed to quantify the preferences of the public to understand the factors that affected views about types of linked data and its use in two jurisdictions.MethodAn online discrete choice experiment (DCE) previously conducted in Scotland was adapted and replicated in Sweden. The DCE was designed, comprising five attributes, to elicit the preferences from a representative sample of the public in both jurisdictions. The five attributes (number of levels) were: type of researcher using linked data (four); type of data being linked (four); purpose of the research (three); use of profit from using linked data (four); who oversees the research (four). Each DCE contained 6 choice-sets asking respondents to select their preferred option from two scenarios or state neither were acceptable. Background questions included socio-demographics. DCE data were analysed using conditional and heteroskedastic conditional logit models to create forecasts of acceptability.ResultsThe study sample comprised members of the public living in Scotland (n =?1004) and Sweden (n =?974). All five attributes were important in driving respondents' choices. Swedish and Scottish preferences were mostly homogenous with the exception of 'who oversees the research using linked data', which had relatively less impact on the choices observed from Scotland. For a defined 'typical' linked data scenario, the probability (on average) of acceptance was 85.7% in Sweden and 82.4% in Scotland.ConclusionThis study suggests that the public living in Scotland and Sweden are open to using anonymised linked data in certain scenarios for research purposes but some caution is advisable if the anonymised linked data joins health to non-health data.

Dataset Information

Changes in public preferences for technologically enhanced surveillance following the COVID-19 pandemic: a discrete choice experiment.

Publications

Changes in public preferences for technologically enhanced surveillance following the COVID-19 pandemic: a discrete choice experiment.

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