Preferences of nurses in the United Kingdom for attributes of pediatric hexavalent vaccines: a discrete-choice experiment.

Background: We evaluated UK nurses' preferences for pediatric hexavalent vaccine attributes.

Research Design And Methods: In a discrete-choice experiment study, 150 nurses chose between 2 hypothetical pediatric hexavalent vaccines with varying attribute levels (device type, plastic in packaging, time on the market, and time the vaccine can stay safely at room temperature) in a series of choice questions. Using random-parameters logit-model estimates, conditional relative attribute importance (CRAI) and odds ratios (ORs) were calculated.

Results: Device type (with associated preparation time and risk of dosage errors) was the most important attribute (CRAI: 61%), followed by years on the market (CRAI: 25%). The odds of choosing a prefilled syringe were nearly 3 times the odds of choosing syringe-and-vial combinations requiring reconstitution (OR, 2.80; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.93-3.68). Vaccines on the market for <1 year were less likely to be preferred to vaccines available for >3 years (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.47-0.84). ORs for time a vaccine can stay at room temperature (3 vs. 6 days) (0.94; 95% CI, 0.71-1.16) and plastic blisters in packaging (1.19; 95% CI, 0.80-1.56) were not significant, indicating that these attributes did not influence choices.

Conclusions: In this survey, nurses' preferences were mainly influenced by device type.Plain Language SummaryTo simplify childhood vaccination, combination vaccines are used to protect against multiple common diseases simultaneously. In the United Kingdom, two vaccines are available that protect against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, hepatitis B, and type b (Hib) diseases.Nurses who administer these combination vaccines may prefer certain attributes over others. In this study, we surveyed nurses in the United Kingdom to learn about their preferences for pediatric hexavalent vaccine attributes.Of the attributes included in the survey, the most important for nurses was the device used to deliver the vaccine with its associated preparation time and risk of dosage errors. Nurses were almost 3 times more likely to prefer a ready-to-use vaccine in a prefilled syringe over a vaccine available as a syringe and vial that requires mixing (or reconstitution) before use.The second most important attribute for nurses was how long a vaccine has been on the market. Nurses generally preferred vaccines that have been available for longer than 3 years versus less than 1 year. Nurses did not have clear preferences either way on plastic blister in packaging or for how long vaccines can be stored at room temperature before needing to be discarded.In this survey, nurses' preferences were mainly influenced by device type, preferring ready-to-use vaccines available as pre-filled syringes to vaccines that need to be mixed before use.