TY - JOUR
T1 - What Tinnitus Therapy Outcome Measures Are Important for Patients?– A Discrete Choice Experiment
AU - Rademaker, Maaike M.
AU - Essers, Brigitte A. B.
AU - Stokroos, Robert J.
AU - Smit, Adriana L.
AU - Stegeman, Inge
N1 - Funding Information: We would like to thank to our colleagues Kelly Assouly with her help in creating the long data format and Laura Markodimitraki for her assistance with the focus groups. Funding. This research was funded by Cochlear, the funder did not have any role in the study design, collection, analyses or interpretation of the results. Utrecht University researchers may call on the Open Access Fund of Utrecht University to have their expenses for open access publications partly reimbursed. Publisher Copyright: © Copyright © 2021 Rademaker, Essers, Stokroos, Smit and Stegeman.
PY - 2021/5/25
Y1 - 2021/5/25
N2 - Introduction: The therapeutic rationale varies among tinnitus therapies. A recent study identified which outcome measures should be used for different types of interventions. What patients consider the most important outcome measure in tinnitus therapy is unclear. Objectives: To study the preference of the tinnitus patient for different outcome measures in tinnitus therapy. Methods: A discrete choice experiment was conducted. Participants were provided with two alternatives per choice set (nine choice sets total). Each choice-set consisted of four attributes (tinnitus loudness, tinnitus acceptance, quality of sleep and concentration). With a difference in one of three levels (increased, similar or decreased after treatment) between the alternatives. Results were analyzed with a mixed logit model. Preference heterogeneity was explored with covariates, correlating attributes and a latent class analysis. Results: One hundred and twenty-seven participants took part. In the mixed logit models we found that the choice for a tinnitus therapy was significantly affected by all levels of the outcomes, except for a similar level in concentration and tinnitus acceptance. Tinnitus loudness was considered the most important outcome measure relative to the other attributes. Preference heterogeneity was not explained by correlating attributes. The latent class analysis identified two classes. The first class was similar to the mixed logit analysis, except for a non-significance of similar quality of sleep and tinnitus acceptance. The second class showed a statistical significant preference only for increased tinnitus acceptance and similar quality of sleep. Conclusion: Based on this study, tinnitus patients consider loudness the most important outcome measure. However, there is a variance in preference as indicated by the latent class analysis. This study underlines the importance of research into tinnitus heterogeneity. Next, this study highlights the need for research into tinnitus therapies that focus on diminishing tinnitus loudness.
AB - Introduction: The therapeutic rationale varies among tinnitus therapies. A recent study identified which outcome measures should be used for different types of interventions. What patients consider the most important outcome measure in tinnitus therapy is unclear. Objectives: To study the preference of the tinnitus patient for different outcome measures in tinnitus therapy. Methods: A discrete choice experiment was conducted. Participants were provided with two alternatives per choice set (nine choice sets total). Each choice-set consisted of four attributes (tinnitus loudness, tinnitus acceptance, quality of sleep and concentration). With a difference in one of three levels (increased, similar or decreased after treatment) between the alternatives. Results were analyzed with a mixed logit model. Preference heterogeneity was explored with covariates, correlating attributes and a latent class analysis. Results: One hundred and twenty-seven participants took part. In the mixed logit models we found that the choice for a tinnitus therapy was significantly affected by all levels of the outcomes, except for a similar level in concentration and tinnitus acceptance. Tinnitus loudness was considered the most important outcome measure relative to the other attributes. Preference heterogeneity was not explained by correlating attributes. The latent class analysis identified two classes. The first class was similar to the mixed logit analysis, except for a non-significance of similar quality of sleep and tinnitus acceptance. The second class showed a statistical significant preference only for increased tinnitus acceptance and similar quality of sleep. Conclusion: Based on this study, tinnitus patients consider loudness the most important outcome measure. However, there is a variance in preference as indicated by the latent class analysis. This study underlines the importance of research into tinnitus heterogeneity. Next, this study highlights the need for research into tinnitus therapies that focus on diminishing tinnitus loudness.
KW - choice
KW - discrete choice experiment
KW - outcome measures
KW - patient's preference
KW - tinnitus
KW - treatment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107416455&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2021.668880
DO - https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2021.668880
M3 - Article
C2 - 34113313
SN - 1664-2295
VL - 12
JO - Frontiers in Neurology
JF - Frontiers in Neurology
M1 - 668880
ER -