Quantifying the utility of taking pills for preventing adverse health outcomes: a cross-sectional survey.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The utility value attributed to taking pills for prevention can have a
major effect on the cost-effectiveness of interventions, but few published studies
have systematically quantified this value. We sought to quantify the utility value
of taking pills used for prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). DESIGN: Cross-sectional
survey. SETTING: Central North Carolina. PARTICIPANTS: 708 healthcare employees aged
18 years and older. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Utility values for taking 1 pill/day,
assessed using time trade-off, modified standard gamble and willingness-to-pay methods.
RESULTS: Mean age of respondents was 43 years (19-74). The majority of the respondents
were female (83%) and Caucasian (80%). Most (80%) took at least 2 pills/day. Mean
utility values for taking 1 pill/day using the time trade-off method were: 0.9972
(95% CI 0.9962 to 0.9980). Values derived from the standard gamble and willingness-to-pay
methods were 0.9967 (0.9954 to 0.9979) and 0.9989 (95% CI 0.9986 to 0.9991), respectively.
Utility values varied little across characteristics such as age, sex, race, education
level or number of pills taken per day. CONCLUSIONS: The utility value of taking pills
daily in order to prevent an adverse CVD health outcome is approximately 0.997.
Type
Journal articleSubject
cost-effectivenessmedical decision making
utility analysis
Adult
Aged
Attitude to Health
Cardiovascular Agents
Cardiovascular Diseases
Cross-Sectional Studies
Drug Administration Schedule
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
North Carolina
Patient Compliance
Pharmaceutical Preparations
Preventive Medicine
Quality of Life
Young Adult
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15925Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006505Publication Info
Hutchins, Robert; Pignone, Michael P; Sheridan, Stacey L; & Viera, Anthony J (2015). Quantifying the utility of taking pills for preventing adverse health outcomes: a
cross-sectional survey. BMJ Open, 5(5). pp. e006505. 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006505. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15925.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
Collections
More Info
Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Robert Preston Hutchins
Consulting Associate in the Department of Medicine
Anthony Joseph Viera
Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health
My major area of research is cardiovascular disease prevention. I am particularly
interested in improving detection and control of hypertension. Since assessment of
blood pressure begins with measurement, my studies often include out-of-office BP
measurement techniques including 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring and home BP monitoring.
I am also interested in obesity prevention, and in another line of research am examining
the effectiveness of food labeling policies (such as calorie-l
Alphabetical list of authors with Scholars@Duke profiles.

Articles written by Duke faculty are made available through the campus open access policy. For more information see: Duke Open Access Policy
Rights for Collection: Scholarly Articles
Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info