Measuring Health Preferences for Use in Analyses of Interventions in Children
2007
Valuing the health of children for cost-utility or cost-benefit analysis is more challenging than valuing adult health. Young children cannot conceptualize value, they are not responsible for their own decision making, and proxies may not fully understand the child perspective. Moreover illness in children may affect parent/caregiver health and quality of life, further complicating the measurement of value associated with a change in a child’s health status.
This paper reviews the most common approaches (QALYs and willingness-to-pay) for valuing health in economic evaluations and considers the methodological and practical issues associated with measuring child health using each framework. Recommendations acknowledge that valuations will vary by age: the currently recommended approach for infants and preschoolers is direct valuation by a proxy respondent; for school-age children and adolescents, existing multi-attribute instruments can be applied in some situations but direct valuation may be required for others. Future research should focus on minimizing bias from proxy respondents, consideration of a family- or household-based approach to valuing health effects, and development of generic instruments with domains that are appropriate to children and that vary with age.
Measuring Health Preferences for Use in Analyses of Interventions in Children
Source:
Prosser LA, Hammit JK, Keren R. Measuring Health Preferences for Use in Cost-Utility and Cost-Benefit Analyses of Interventions in Children Theoretical and Methodological Considerations. PharmacoEconomics 2007; 25 (9): 713-726. https://doi.org/10.2165/00019053-200725090-00001
Not open access.