Objective: To use contingent valuation (CV) to derive individual consumer values for both health and broader benefits of a public-health intervention directed at lifestyle behaviour change (LBC) and to examine the feasibility and validity of the method.
Method: Participants of a lifestyle intervention trial (n = 515) were invited to complete an online CV survey. Respondents (n = 312) expressed willingness to invest money and time for changes in life expectancy, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and broader quality of life aspects. Internal validity was tested for by exploring associations between explanatory variables (i.e. income, paid work, experience and risk factors for cardiovascular diseases) and willingness to invest, and by examining ordering effects and respondents' sensitivity to the scope of the benefits.
Results: The majority of respondents (94.3%) attached value to benefits of LBC, and 87.4% were willing to invest both money and time. Respondents were willing to invest more for improvements in HRQOL (€42/month; 3 h/week) and broader quality of life aspects (€40/month; 2.6 h/week) than for improvements in life expectancy (€24/month; 2 h/week). Protest answers were limited (3%) and findings regarding internal validity were mixed.
Conclusion: The importance of broader quality of life outcomes to consumers suggests that these outcomes are relevant to be considered in the decision making. Our research showed that CV is a feasible method to value both health and broader outcomes of LBC, but generalizability to other areas of public health still needs to be examined. Mixed evidence regarding internal validity pleads for caution to use CV as only the base for decision making.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hex.12195 | DOI Listing |
JMIR Form Res
January 2025
Department of Computer Science, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Background: Mobile health apps have shown promising results in improving self-management of several chronic diseases in patients. We have developed a mobile health app (Cardiomeds) dedicated to patients with heart failure (HF). This app includes an interactive medication list; daily self-monitoring of symptoms, weight, blood pressure, and heart rate; and educational information on HF delivered through various formats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
Importance: Mental health issues among young people are increasingly concerning. Conventional psychological interventions face challenges, including limited staffing, time commitment, and low completion rates.
Objective: To evaluate the effect of a low-intensity online intervention on young people in Hong Kong experiencing moderate or greater mental distress.
J Speech Lang Hear Res
January 2025
Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Purpose: In this review article, we present an extensive overview of recent developments in the area of dysarthric speech research. One of the key objectives of speech technology research is to improve the quality of life of its users, as evidenced by the focus of current research trends on creating inclusive conversational interfaces that cater to pathological speech, out of which dysarthric speech is an important example. Applications of speech technology research for dysarthric speech demand a clear understanding of the acoustics of dysarthric speech as well as of speech technologies, including machine learning and deep neural networks for speech processing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPain Ther
January 2025
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital/Rutgers Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
Introduction: Many interventional strategies are commonly used to treat chronic low back pain (CLBP), though few are specifically intended to target the distinct underlying pathomechanisms causing low back pain. Restorative neurostimulation has been suggested as a specific treatment for mechanical CLBP resulting from multifidus dysfunction. In this randomized controlled trial, we report outcomes from a cohort of patients with CLBP associated with multifidus dysfunction treated with restorative neurostimulation compared to those randomized to a control group receiving optimal medical management (OMM) over 1 year.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDermatol Ther (Heidelb)
January 2025
Medical Affairs, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shinagawa Grand Central Tower, 2-16-4 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8241, Japan.
Introduction: The impact of atopic dermatitis (AD) on daily life and different levels of quality of life (QOL) according to AD severity has not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to assess QOL in relation to the AD severity in Japan.
Methods: This observational study used anonymized data of health insurance association members and their families registered to a mobile health app.
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