Journal article
The impact of forced choice on person trade-offs: Evidence on age weights for paediatric health gains.
Udeni De Silva Perera, Nancy Devlin, Tessa Peasgood, Gang Chen, Quality Of Life in Kids: Key evidence to strengthen decisions in Australia (QUOKKA) project team
Soc Sci Med | Published : 2026
Open access
Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study examines the impact of forced versus unforced choice formats in Person Trade Off (PTO) experiments on eliciting age weights for gains in health for children and young people compared to adults. While PTOs are widely used to elicit societal preferences, the effect of including a "no preference" option has not been fully investigated. METHODS: A randomised online survey was conducted in Australia (n = 2098), comparing two PTO arms: one forced choice and one unforced, allowing a "no preference" response. Respondents evaluated five health gains (life extension and quality-of-life improvements) across 13 child/adolescent age groups versus adults aged 40 or 55. Equivalence r..
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