Testing preference elicitation methods in clinical case studies
Our researchers will test different methods for preference elicitation in clinical case studies. We will evaluate what patients think is relevant about their disease and its impact. We will look at which treatment options they prefer and their willingness to accept trade-offs between benefits and risks of their treatment. These methods will be evaluated at different decision points in the drug development process.
We are running clinical patient preference case studies in three disease areas, involving both patient partners and clinical research partners in the PREFER project: lung cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and neuromuscular disorders. PhD students working in the project and partners from the pharmaceutical industry provide an additional eight more patient preference studies covering preferences for different kinds of treatment for haemophilia, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, multiple myeloma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic pain and myocardial infarction. We are also using eye-tracking techniques to see how patients respond to a preference study using a methodology called discrete choice experiments (DCE).
Want to learn more? have a look at our case study catalogue. And if you want to know more about how we use different terms in PREFER, have a look at our glossary. We are also making an effort to summarise case study results in plain language.
Our core case studies
The PREFER project is running three large clinical patient preference studies in three disease areas: Lung cancer, neuromuscular disorders and rheumatoid arthritis.
Lung cancer

Identifying and evaluating which elements are relevant for patients and should be considered when evaluating treatment.
Neuromuscular disorders

Exploring met and unmet health needs of patients and caregivers to identify future treatment needs.
Rheumatoid arthritis

Asking siblings, children and members of the general public about their preferences for preventive treatments for RA.
Case studies by PREFER partners
PREFER partners are contributing data from patient preference studies they have conducted outside the framework of the project. In addition, our PhD students are running their own preference studies as part of their thesis work. Alongside, some of the pharmaceutical companies involved in the project are doing their own studies to explore PREFER research questions. Together, these eight contributions from our partners will contribute to robust and evidence-based recommendations!
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD)

Showing the importance of alleviating symptoms.
Chronic pain

Collaborating on the development of novel treatment.
Diabetes

Exploring preferences and trade-offs diabetes patients make when selecting their glucose-monitoring device
Rheumatoid arthritis

Exploring the trade-offs patients are willing to make, to support clinical and regulatory decisions
Multiple Myeloma

Understanding how patients trade off between the benefits and risks of multiple myeloma treatments
Myocardial infarction

Exploring if preferences for a patient-centered assessment of suitale treatment options differ for patients with acute or chronic disease.
Haemophilia

Exploring how different features influence patients’ choices between standard therapy and gene therapy.
Plain language summaries of PREFER case studies

Want to know more about our case studies but not completely comfortable with the preference research lingo?
Find out what we have published so far!

We are publishing our results in reports and scientific journals.