Background: Treatment preferences may contribute to seeking and adhering to professional help for depression. Few studies have considered practical barriers and controlled for individual difference factors.
Objective: To clarify depression treatment preferences among Japanese undergraduates while considering practical barriers and controlling for individual difference factors.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 985 undergraduates. Depression treatment preferences were assessed by presenting them with nine hypothetical clinics. Conjoint analysis was performed using a random effect ordered probit model, controlling for the effects of gender, age, department, lifetime use of healthcare services, perceived etiology of depression, stigma towards depression, transportation time, opening hours, and treatment options.
Results: Transportation time and treatment options had the greatest average discrete changes than other factors. Although information is presented about treatment costs in the order medication (3,000 yen), psychotherapy (7,000 yen) and combination (10,000 yen), the order of predicted probabilities for positive ratings was combination (61.4%), psychotherapy (54.9%) and medication (23.2%). Sensitivity analyses showed similar results.
Conclusion: Transportation time and treatment options have greater utility than other factors, and a combination of psychotherapy and medication is the most preferred treatment option despite having the highest treatment costs. Efforts to overcome these effects could help increase depression treatment preferences.
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