Conjoint analysis: Development of a clinical decision aid for men with localized prostate cancer

Clinical decision aids can be used in a clinical setting to elicit patient preferences toward clinical and non-clinical characteristics of prostate cancer treatment. Compared with traditional decision aids, conjoint analysis, a common marketing tool, may be a more effective method of quantifying patient preferences. We piloted a conjoint analysis application with four focus groups to evaluate treatment attributes important to men with prostate cancer. Eligibility criteria included men who had completed treatment for localized prostate cancer within the last five years, or who had a recent prostate needle biopsy (n=29). Men were asked to review the conjoint application and rate it for user friendliness, understandability, and the subject's assessment of the ability of this tool to determine individual preferences. Of the 29 respondents, 23 (79%) men felt the application was easy to understand, and 25 (86%) men felt that the application was user friendly. Another 26 men (90%) felt they were able to easily understand the different health outcomes being described in the application. Most men (90%) felt that the application allowed them to express their priorities and preferences for different possible outcomes and side effects of prostate cancer treatment. We believe that conjoint analysis is an innovative approach with the potential to improve prostate cancer treatment decisions in a clinical setting. This interactive program allows men to express their preferences for care and can improve decision quality. We are currently testing our conjoint application to evaluate its effectiveness and compare its validity to other preference assessment methods.