Threshold Technique

The Threshold Technique measures individuals' attitudes toward a single key attribute of a particular “target” therapy. The procedure involves repeatedly varying the levels of the key attribute of primary interest and, with each variation, asking the respondent to choose between the target therapy and an alternate reference therapy.

The key attribute that is varied depends on the study purpose. For example, the attribute could be chance (e.g., the probabilities of side effects or benefits), time (e.g., time waiting for therapy or life expectancy), or distance to travel (e.g., for access to care). Compared with other methods for evaluating therapies, it is close to the Willingness-to-Pay method, in which cost is the key attribute that is varied.

The technique can be appropriately adapted to a wide range of ...