Understanding public preferences and trade-offs for government responses during a pandemic: a protocol for a discrete choice experiment in the UK
Introduction Social distancing and lockdown measures are among the main government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures aim to limit the COVID-19 infection rate and reduce the mortality rate of COVID-19. Given we are likely to see local lockdowns until a treatment or vaccine for COVID-...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2020-11-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/11/e043477.full |
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| author | Shantini Paranjothy Daniel Powell Mandy Ryan Mesfin G Genie Luis Enrique Loría-Rebolledo Ruben Andreas Sakowsky Verity Watson |
| author_facet | Shantini Paranjothy Daniel Powell Mandy Ryan Mesfin G Genie Luis Enrique Loría-Rebolledo Ruben Andreas Sakowsky Verity Watson |
| author_sort | Shantini Paranjothy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction Social distancing and lockdown measures are among the main government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures aim to limit the COVID-19 infection rate and reduce the mortality rate of COVID-19. Given we are likely to see local lockdowns until a treatment or vaccine for COVID-19 is available, and their effectiveness depends on public acceptability, it is important to understand public preference for government responses.Methods and analysis Using a discrete choice experiment (DCE), this study will investigate the public’s preferences for pandemic responses in the UK. Attributes (and levels) are based on: (1) lockdown measures described in policy documents; (2) literature on preferences for lockdown measures and (3) a social media analysis. Attributes include: lockdown type; lockdown length; postponement of usual non-urgent medical care; number of excess deaths; number of infections; impact on household spending and job losses. We will prepilot the DCE using virtual think aloud interviews with respondents recruited via Facebook. We will collect preference data using an online survey of 4000 individuals from across the four UK countries (1000 per country). We will estimate the relative importance of the attributes, and the trade-offs individuals are willing to make between attributes. We will test if respondents’ preferences differ based on moral attitudes (using the Moral Foundation Questionnaire), socioeconomic circumstances (age, education, economic insecurity, health status), country of residence and experience of COVID-19.Ethics and dissemination The University of Aberdeen’s College Ethics Research Board (CERB) has approved the study (reference: CERB/2020/6/1974). We will seek CERB approval for major changes from the developmental and pilot work. Peer-reviewed papers will be submitted, and results will be presented at public health and health economic conferences nationally and internationally. A lay summary will be published on the Health Economics Research Unit blog. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8c92fe188cd84df1a52dde1a9e4d49c0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-8c92fe188cd84df1a52dde1a9e4d49c02024-11-27T12:35:10ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552020-11-01101110.1136/bmjopen-2020-043477Understanding public preferences and trade-offs for government responses during a pandemic: a protocol for a discrete choice experiment in the UKShantini Paranjothy0Daniel Powell1Mandy Ryan2Mesfin G Genie3Luis Enrique Loría-Rebolledo4Ruben Andreas Sakowsky5Verity Watson6Aberdeen Health Data Science Research Centre, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK4 Health Psychology, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKHealth Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKHealth Economics Research Unit (HERU), Faculty of Medicine, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKHealth Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKDepartment of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, GermanyHealth Economics Research Unit, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKIntroduction Social distancing and lockdown measures are among the main government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures aim to limit the COVID-19 infection rate and reduce the mortality rate of COVID-19. Given we are likely to see local lockdowns until a treatment or vaccine for COVID-19 is available, and their effectiveness depends on public acceptability, it is important to understand public preference for government responses.Methods and analysis Using a discrete choice experiment (DCE), this study will investigate the public’s preferences for pandemic responses in the UK. Attributes (and levels) are based on: (1) lockdown measures described in policy documents; (2) literature on preferences for lockdown measures and (3) a social media analysis. Attributes include: lockdown type; lockdown length; postponement of usual non-urgent medical care; number of excess deaths; number of infections; impact on household spending and job losses. We will prepilot the DCE using virtual think aloud interviews with respondents recruited via Facebook. We will collect preference data using an online survey of 4000 individuals from across the four UK countries (1000 per country). We will estimate the relative importance of the attributes, and the trade-offs individuals are willing to make between attributes. We will test if respondents’ preferences differ based on moral attitudes (using the Moral Foundation Questionnaire), socioeconomic circumstances (age, education, economic insecurity, health status), country of residence and experience of COVID-19.Ethics and dissemination The University of Aberdeen’s College Ethics Research Board (CERB) has approved the study (reference: CERB/2020/6/1974). We will seek CERB approval for major changes from the developmental and pilot work. Peer-reviewed papers will be submitted, and results will be presented at public health and health economic conferences nationally and internationally. A lay summary will be published on the Health Economics Research Unit blog.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/11/e043477.full |
| spellingShingle | Shantini Paranjothy Daniel Powell Mandy Ryan Mesfin G Genie Luis Enrique Loría-Rebolledo Ruben Andreas Sakowsky Verity Watson Understanding public preferences and trade-offs for government responses during a pandemic: a protocol for a discrete choice experiment in the UK BMJ Open |
| title | Understanding public preferences and trade-offs for government responses during a pandemic: a protocol for a discrete choice experiment in the UK |
| title_full | Understanding public preferences and trade-offs for government responses during a pandemic: a protocol for a discrete choice experiment in the UK |
| title_fullStr | Understanding public preferences and trade-offs for government responses during a pandemic: a protocol for a discrete choice experiment in the UK |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding public preferences and trade-offs for government responses during a pandemic: a protocol for a discrete choice experiment in the UK |
| title_short | Understanding public preferences and trade-offs for government responses during a pandemic: a protocol for a discrete choice experiment in the UK |
| title_sort | understanding public preferences and trade offs for government responses during a pandemic a protocol for a discrete choice experiment in the uk |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/11/e043477.full |
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