Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Health Management and Economics Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Regarding lack of resources in the health‑care sector, prioritization of these
resources is inevitable. The objective of the current study was to elicit public preference in prioritizing
and allocating health resources using a discrete choice experiment technique, which is currently the
most commonly applied method in this field of researches.
METHODS: In this discrete choice study, five attributes were selected through interview with 25 health
experts to elicit people preferences in Tehran (Iran) in 2017. Eighteen choice tasks were arranged
within 3 blocks, and this would be achieved with a sample size of 579. Choice data were modeled
using generalized estimating equation method and STATA 14 software.
RESULTS: Five attributes including level of emergency, severity of disease, communicable, benefit
from treatment, and age are the most important attributes in the prioritizing health resources from
the expert’s point of view. As well as among these attributes, communicable (odds ratio = 2.81) is
the most important attributes from the public’s point of view.
CONCLUSION: The results of this study could be very useful for prioritizing resources which is one
of the most challenging measurements of the health system. By identifying the importance of each
patient’s characteristic, patients can be categorized in groups with different priorities, as well as the
diagnosis‑related group system, based on which resources are allocated.
Keywords
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