Cancer survivor preferences for breast cancer follow-up care: a discrete choice experiment

To identify the key attributes of breast cancer follow-up care models preferred by cancer survivors in Australia.

A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted to elicit preferences for attributes of breast cancer follow-up care. Respondents were presented with two hypothetical scenarios, known as choice sets, and asked to select a preference. Respondents were individuals living in Australia who were diagnosed with breast cancer within the past five years prior to survey completion and were recruited through the Breast Cancer Network of Australia and other community or consumer networks. Latent class modelling (LCM) approach under a random utility framework was used for the analysis.

123 breast cancer survivors completed the DCE survey. LCA revealed two latent classes, those with older age and lower quality of life (class 1) and younger women with higher quality of life (class 2). Class 2 preferred a care team comprising specialists, nurses and GPs and emphasised the importance of shared survivorship care plans. Class 1 remained neutral regarding the team's composition but was notably concerned about the out-of-pocket costs per consultation, a finding not seen in Class 2.

Age and quality of life status are associated with patient preference for types and attributes of breast cancer follow-up care. The health system can work towards enhancing flexibility of follow-up care delivery, ultimately achieving person-centred care.

Efforts need to be made by policymakers to ensure consumer preferences are taken into consideration to implement tailored person-centred follow-up care pathways.