A DCE to Understand Patients' Preferences for Alternative Models of Care

We will use the Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) method to elicit preferences for alternative models of care for people with fibromyalgia. The DCE is a choice-based survey that quantifies preferences for attributes (or features) of goods, services or policy interventions. It assumes that any good or service (in this case models of care for fibromyalgia) can be described by its attributes and the measure (or 'levels') of these attributes. Each respondent faces a series of hypothetical scenarios (choice sets) composed of two or more alternatives. In each choice set, respondents are asked to choose their preferred scenario. The principle underlying a DCE is choices are made based on the features (or attributes) of different actions. Therefore, a DCE enables researchers to gain insight into the relative importance of each attribute, and the trade-offs between attributes.

This study is a survey of participants identified from a previous study about chronic widespread pain ("MAintaining MusculOskeleTal Health" - MAmMOTH). As part of the MAmMOTH study, a randomly selected sample of adults aged 25 years and over registered with participating general practices in Scotland were mailed a screening questionnaire. All individuals who returned the completed screening questionnaire and who met some criteria for fibromyalgia and consented to be contacted for future health survey research were approached for a further survey, the DEHLTA study. The DEHLTA survey questionnaire asked participants if they had ever received a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. From respondents to the DEHLTA study, individuals who said they had a diagnosis of fibromyalgia and who consented to be contacted for future studies will be eligible to participate in the current pilot study. We estimate this will be approximately 80 individuals.

Inclusion criteria are:

• Reporting a diagnosis of fibromyalgia in the DEHLTA survey
• Consenting to be contacted for future health survey research in the DEHLTA survey

Exclusion criteria are:

• Not reporting a diagnosis of fibromyalgia in the DEHLTA survey
• Not consenting to be contacted for future health survey research in the DEHLTA survey

Eligible individuals will receive a one-off paper questionnaire (including an invitation letter, a patient information sheet, and a prepaid, preaddressed envelope) and be invited to participate in the current study. A reminder letter will be mailed two weeks later. Mailings will be carried out by study staff at the University of Aberdeen.

We will analyse the feasibility of the model of data collection and quality of the questionnaire responses by estimating response rate, questionnaire completion times, item response and qualitative feedback on question items. In addition, we will assess frequencies and associations in choice responses to examine the strength of preferences relating to service provision in terms of the specified attributes (time to diagnosis, diagnosis provider, treatment type, waiting time, and type of on-going help and support). The data analysis conducted will inform the design of a larger study involving participants from a national patient organisation.