Patient preferences for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in Australia: a discrete choice experiment

Background Australia has a high proportion of migrants, with an increasing migration rate from India. Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition common amongst the Indian population. The decision to initiate and continue medication therapy (conventional or ayurvedic medicine) is complex and is influenced by a wide range of factors. Objective To determine preferences for conventional vs. ayurvedic medicines in Indian migrants with diabetes, and to identify the factors that may influence their preferences. Methods A discrete choice experiment was conducted with participants in Australia who were migrants from India with type 2 diabetes (n=141). Each respondent evaluated eight choice tasks consisting of eight attributes describing medicines and outcomes of medication taking; and were asked to choose ‘conventional’, or ‘ayurvedic’ medicine. A mixed multinomial logit model was used to estimate preferences. Results Overall, respondents’ preference to initiate a medicine was negative for both conventional (β=−2.33164, p