Idea Summary
apex.item.setValue() provides a parameter pSuppressChangeEvent to suppress the change event for the item being set

e.g.

apex.item( "P1_ITEM" ).setValue( "10", null, true );

However this parameter is missing from model.setValue()

setValue(pRecord_opt_, pFieldName, pValue) 

Use Case
The change event should be suppressed when the value is set while processing a change event triggered on the same column, to prevent an infinite loop.

Preferred Solution (Optional)
setValue(pRecord_opt_, pFieldName, pValue, pSuppressChangeEvent_opt_)