Using discrete choice experiments to develop and deliver patient-centered psychological interventions: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

Developing and/or tailoring psychological interventions to align with patient preferences is a critical component of patient-centered care and has the potential to improve patient engagement and treatment outcomes. Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are a quantitative method of assessing patient preferences that offer numerous strengths (i.e., ability to account for trade-offs), but are not routinely incorporated into health psychology coursework, likely leaving many unaware of the potential benefits of this methodology. To highlight the potential applications of DCEs within health psychology, this systematic review synthesises previous efforts to utilise DCEs to inform the design of patient-centered psychological care, defined as interventions targeting psychological (e.g., depression, anxiety) or behavioural health (e.g., pain management, adherence) concerns. Literature searches were conducted in March 2017 and November 2019 for articles reporting on DCEs using the terms ‘discrete choice’, ‘conjoint’, or ‘stated preference’. Thirty-nine articles met all inclusion criteria and used DCEs to understand patient preferences regarding psychosocial clinical services (n = 12), lifestyle behaviour change interventions (n = 11), HIV prevention and/or intervention services (n = 10), disease self-management programmes (n = 4), or other interventions (n = 2). Clinical implications as well as limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Psychological intervention
• behavioural intervention
• discrete choice experiment

Acknowledgements

Gabriella Breen and Monica Kruse are gratefully acknowledged for their assistance with manuscript formatting and proofreading.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

M.E.M. was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K07CA200668. The National Institutes of Health had no role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.