Patient preferences for asthma therapy: a discrete choice experiment.

AIM This study was designed to capture patient preferences for different aspects of asthma treatment from people with asthma in the UK, the Netherlands and Spain. METHODS Asthma patients from the UK (n=124), the Netherlands (n=269) and Spain (n=86) participated in the survey. Patients' preferences and willingness to pay for a particular number of preventer inhalers, in relation to days per week with symptoms, days requiring reliever medication, risk of side effects, and requirement for a visit to their general practitioner (GP) or the Emergency Room (ER), were recorded. RESULTS Participants were willing to pay euro 35/month to avoid a day with symptoms, euro 109/month to avoid asthma attacks that required emergency visits to their GP or the ER, and euro 94/month to achieve total avoidance of asthma symptoms compared with their current state. CONCLUSIONS This study presents European data regarding the importance to patients of different attributes of asthma and its treatment. Study participants placed high values on the avoidance of symptoms, and asthma attacks requiring medical attendance.