Preferences for physical activity: a conjoint analysis involving people with chronic knee pain

Summary Objective To investigate individual preferences or characteristics for physical activity (PA) attributes in adults with chronic knee pain, to identify clusters of individuals with similar preferences, and to identify whether individuals in these clusters differ by their demographic and health characteristics. Design An adaptive conjoint analysis was conducted using the PAPRIKA method to determine preference weights representing the relative importance of six physical activity attributes. Cluster analysis was performed to identify clusters of participants with similar weights. Chi-square and ANOVA with Bonferroni correction were used to assess differences in individual characteristics by cluster. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess associations between individual characteristics and cluster assignment. Results The study sample included 146 participants; mean age 65, 72% female, 47% white, non-Hispanic. The six attributes (mean weights in parentheses) are: health benefit (0.26), enjoyment (0.24), convenience (0.16), financial cost (0.13), effort (0.11) and time cost (0.10). Three clusters were identified: Cluster 1 (n=33): for whom enjoyment (0.35) is twice as important as health benefit; Cluster 2 (n=63): for whom health benefit (0.38) is most important; and Cluster 3 (n=50): for whom cost (0.18), effort (0.18), health benefit (0.17) and enjoyment (0.18) are equally important. Cluster 1 was healthiest, Cluster 2 most self-efficacious, and Cluster 3 was in poorest health. Conclusions Patients with chronic knee pain have preferences for PA that can be distinguished effectively using ACA methods. Adults with chronic knee pain, clustered by PA preferences, share distinguishing characteristics. Understanding preferences may help clinicians and researchers target interventions better tailor PA interventions.