Developing a standardized digital assessment of patient treatment preferences
Patient treatment preferences can meaningfully influence how individuals engage with medical and digital health interventions. This project focuses on developing and evaluating a fully automated procedure that captures these preferences in a clear and standardized way. Using important concepts from research methods and trial design, the goal is to create an approach suitable for use in randomized controlled trials, particularly those involving remote or digital health interventions.
Why understanding preferences matters for trial design
Patient preferences can play an important role in shaping treatment outcomes, both in randomized controlled trials and in clinical practice. Several meta-analyses have shown that treatment effects are often stronger when patients receive a treatment that matches their personal preferences rather than being assigned to a non-preferred option. In clinical trials, Patient preferences influence outcomes in clinical trials.
Standardized assessments can help researchers better understand how preferences relate to non-specific treatment effects and potential sources of bias. For future trials with two active treatments, integrating such a preference assessment may support more accurate evaluation of intervention effects.
Preference assessment in digital trials
However, assessing patient preferences remains challenging, and existing approaches vary considerably. This issue is particularly relevant in digital trials, where participants often do not have the opportunity to discuss treatment options directly with study personnel.
The aim of this project is to develop a standardized digital procedure for assessing patient preferences. The procedure is designed to reliably identify preferred treatment options and to be applicable in fully remote preference trials across a wide range of clinical settings and treatments.
Study Design
The project followed several developmental phases to design a preference assessment procedure that is both practical and scientifically sound. To ensure the procedure was understandable and appropriate for diverse users, the project included multiple testing phases and a mixed-method stepwise approach including e.g. pilot testing with medical students and qualitative interviews with cancer patients. The final version is a three-step assessment, fully automated and designed for seamless use in clinical trials with digital health interventions. The assessment procedure was then implemented in a fully randomized preference trial.
Funding
Krebsforschung Schweiz KFS-5723-02-2023
Selected publications
Barth J, Thomae AV, Tietjen AK, Witt CM. Assessment of patient preferences in digital health trials: procedure development and implementation in a preference-based trial. BMJ Open. 2026 May 26;16(5):e115137.
Project team
- Claudia Witt (Principal Investigator)
- Jürgen Barth (Contact)