Application of Conjoint Analysis to Improve Reliability of Dietician Consultation in Pediatric Celiac Disease

INTRODUCTION: Celiac disease (CD) management involves lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet, making the dietician a key member in CD care. However, our institution lacked a standardized process for dietary consultation in newly diagnosed CD. METHODS: To understand provider CD care preferences, a 2(4-1) fractional factorial conjoint analysis was performed. Attributes studied (2 levels each) included type of initial follow-up gastroenterology (GI) provider, interval from diagnosis to follow-up, concurrence of initial dietary consultation with gastroenterology visit, and on-going follow-up GI provider. CD care was standardized in July 2014 to facilitate concurrent visits with the clinician and dietician during the same clinical session. Changes to mean time of dietary consultation and reliability of dietary consultation were monitored using an individual-control and G-control chart, respectively. Standard control chart rules were followed. RESULTS: Conjoint analysis identified shorter time to initial follow-up visit and concurrent GI/dietician visits as more important attributes in newly diagnosed CD subjects’ care. Types of follow-up provider during first or subsequent visits were identified as less important attributes. After initiation of a standardized follow-up process, a special cause was identified in December 2015 with a decrease in the mean time to dietary consultation from 30 to 20 days. In addition, standardized follow-up resulted in a more reliable process as evident by a special cause on the G-control chart in February 2015. CONCLUSION: Conjoint analysis identified attributes thought to be important in CD follow-up care. After redesign of our care process, a decrease in time to dietary consultation with improved reliability was observed.