Table 1.
Variation in treatment characteristics across ART regimens and their operationalization as attribute levels in the discrete choice experiment
| Verbal description of attribute levels | Characteristics of existing regimens | N or range | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attribute 1: Dosing | Number of pills (per dose) | ||
| One2 | 8 regimens | ||
| You take 1 pill once daily | Two2 | 10 regimens | |
| You take 2 pills once daily | Three | 5 regimens | |
| You take 3 pills once daily | |||
| You take 1 pill twice daily | Dosing frequency | ||
| Once daily | 19 regimens | ||
| Twice daily | 2 regimens | ||
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| |||
| Attribute 2: Administration | |||
| The pills are small but you must take them with a meal of at least 400 kcal | Meal requirement | 16 regimens | |
| The pills are large (about 1 inch) but you can take them with or without a meal | |||
| The pills are small and you can take them with or without a meal | Pill size | 6 to 23 mm | |
|
| |||
| Attribute 3: Side effect | |||
| Individually most bothersome side effect, selected from: | Range for probability of side effect | Low | High |
| You have 2–3 loose bowel movements on most days of the week | Moderate diarrhea | 0 | 0.2 |
| You have no diarrhea | |||
| You have trouble sleeping or unusual dreams most nights of the week | Moderate sleeping problems | 0 | 0.161 |
| You have no problems sleeping | |||
| You have headaches on most days of the week | Moderate headaches | 0 | 0.07 |
| You have no headaches | |||
| You often feel dizzy or have trouble concentrating after taking your medicine | Moderate dizziness | 0 | 0.28 |
| You have no dizziness or trouble concentrating | |||
| You feel depressed most days of the week and some people consider suicide | Moderate depression | 0 | 0.09 |
| You have no depression | |||
| Your skin and the white part of your eyes turn yellow | Jaundice | 0 | 0.65 |
| You have no jaundice | |||
|
| |||
| Attribute 4: Long-term effect | |||
| Individually most bothersome long-term effect, selected from: | Probability of long-term effect | Low | High |
| Over 5 years ... | Over 5 years … | ||
| 1 out of 100 patients will have a heart attack (lower risk) | Risk of heart attack | 0 | 0.02 |
| 2 out of 100 patients will have a heart attack (higher risk) | |||
| 1 out of 100 patients will have a fracture due to weakened bones (lower risk) | Risk of fracture due to weakend bones | 0 | 0.03 |
| 3 out of 100 patients will have a fracture due to weakened bones (higher risk) | |||
| 1 out of 100 patients will develop new or worse kidney problems (lower risk) | Risk of new or worse kidney problems | 0 | 0.03 |
| 3 out of 100 patients will develop new or worse kidney problems (higher risk) | |||
| 10 out of 100 patients will have high cholesterol (lower risk) | Risk of high cholesterol | 0.1 | 0.25 |
| 25 out of 100 patients will have high cholesterol (higher risk) | |||
| 7 out of 100 patients will develop high blood sugar (lower risk) | Risk of high blood sugar | 0.1 | 0.15 |
| 15 out of 100 patients will develop high blood sugar (higher risk) | |||