Quantifying the utility of taking pills for preventing adverse health outcomes: a cross-sectional survey

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.