What Matters Most to Patients Choosing a Multiple Sclerosis Treatment: A Discrete Choice Study

Australians with multiple sclerosis (MS) now have 14 approved disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) to choose from. These differ in how they're administered, how well they work, their side-effect profiles, and monitoring requirements — and with no single "best" option, the decision is shared between clinician and patient. Yet there is currently no Australian evidence base describing which treatment features actually drive that decision, and no decision-aid tool to support it. This project asks: what matters most to people with MS when choosing a treatment, and how much does each factor matter? The student will help run a two-stage study combining qualitative interviews with people attending the Monash Health MS clinic with a discrete choice experiment (DCE) — a quantitative survey method (grounded in random utility theory) in which participants repeatedly choose between hypothetical treatment "profiles" that vary in attributes such as efficacy, risk, and route of administration. Statistical modelling (logistic regression, principal component analysis) is then used to quantify the relative weight of each attribute in patients' decisions. Research aims Aim 1: Identify the DMT attributes most important to consumers, via literature review and semi-structured interviews (thematic analysis). Aim 2: Quantify the relative importance of these attributes using a D-efficient discrete choice experiment (~200 participants) analysed with conditional logistic / multinomial logit regression. Skills the student will gain Qualitative interviewing and thematic analysis; discrete choice experiment design; applied biostatistics/econometrics (logistic regression, principal component analysis); clinical research within a multidisciplinary neurology team; and exposure to consumer-engaged, translational health services research. Why this project This is a first-of-its-kind Australian study at the intersection of clinical neurology, consumer health research, and econometrics — ideal for a student interested in patient-centred care, health decision science, or quantitative methods, with strong potential for a co-authored publication and a foundation for further postgraduate research.