• Anna Tichler, Dorijn F L Hertroijs, Dirk Ruwaard, BrouwersMartijn C G JMCGJ0000-0002-8229-3331Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolic Disease, Maastricht University Medi, Mickaël Hiligsmann, Judith D de Jong, and Arianne M J Elissen.
• Department of Health Services Research, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
• Patient Prefer Adher. 2023 Jan 1; 17: 719729719-729.

PurposeGreater knowledge of individuals' needs and preferences can enhance shared decision-making, which is associated with improved quality of decisions and increased satisfaction. This study aimed to identify and prioritize the attributes (ie conversation topics) that individuals with type 2 diabetes find it most important to discuss with their healthcare provider regarding treatment decisions.Patients And MethodsFirst, small group interviews were organized with adults with type 2 diabetes (N=8) treated in primary care to identify the attributes that they find important to discuss regarding treatment decisions. A five-step nominal group technique was applied during the interviews. An object best-worst scaling (BWS) survey was subsequently distributed to individuals with self-reported diabetes participating in the Dutch Health Care Consumer Panel of the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (N=600) to determine the relative importance score (RIS) of the identified attributes. A higher RIS indicates a higher level of perceived importance. Subgroup and latent class analyses were performed to explore whether individuals' demographic and disease characteristics influenced their attribute preferences.ResultsA total of 21 attributes were identified during three small group interviews with individuals with type 2 diabetes. Respondents in the BWS survey (N=285) viewed "quality of life" (RIS=11.97), "clinical outcomes" (RIS=10.40), "long-term diabetes complications" (RIS=9.83) and "short-term adverse medication" (RIS=7.72) as the most important in the decision-making process for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Some differences in attribute preferences were identified according to demographic and disease characteristics.ConclusionIn general, individuals with type 2 diabetes not only want to discuss the biological effects of treatments, but also the impact of treatment on their quality of life. Healthcare providers should be aware that attributes are viewed differently by different individuals. This emphasizes the need for tailor-made healthcare decisions, which means eliciting and responding to individual preferences in the decision-making process.© 2023 Tichler et al.

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