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

Area of Science:

• Health Psychology
• Behavioral Health
• Patient-Centered Care

Background:

• Tailoring psychological interventions to patient preferences enhances engagement and outcomes.
• Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are a quantitative method for assessing patient preferences, but are underutilized in health psychology.
• Understanding patient preferences is key to developing effective, patient-centered psychological and behavioral health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the application of DCEs in informing the design of patient-centered psychological care.
• To highlight the potential benefits and applications of DCEs within health psychology.
• To synthesize research on DCEs used to understand patient preferences for various health interventions.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of articles reporting DCEs.
• Searches conducted in March 2017 and November 2019 using terms 'discrete choice', 'conjoint', or 'stated preference'.
• Included studies focused on DCEs informing patient-centered psychological or behavioral health interventions.

Main Results:

• Thirty-nine articles met inclusion criteria.
• DCEs were used to understand preferences for psychosocial clinical services (12 studies), lifestyle behavior change (11 studies), HIV services (10 studies), and self-management programs (4 studies).
• The review identified diverse applications of DCEs in tailoring health interventions to patient preferences.

Conclusions:

• Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are a valuable tool for understanding patient preferences in health psychology.
• Integrating DCEs into health psychology can advance patient-centered care and improve intervention design.
• Further research should explore DCEs' potential to optimize psychological and behavioral health interventions.