Comparing generic preference-based health-related quality-of-life measures: advancing the research agenda

Abstract

Interest in generic preference-based health-related quality-of-life measures has grown considerably in recent years. Given the availability of several different measures, there is a question over the extent to which different measures produce different results. To determine the interchangeability between measures, a number of head-to-head comparisons have been undertaken to assess levels of agreement or association. However, the assessment of interchangeability may be addressed using a number of different methods. This paper reviews the methods that have been employed to examine the degree of interchangeability between the Assessment of Quality of Life, EuroQol-5D, Health Utilities Index Mark III, Short-Form-6D, Quality of Wellbeing and 15-dimension measures. It suggests a need to develop alternative econometric strategies and to explore, more fully, economic concepts of validity.

Keywords::

• 15D
• AQOL
• EQ-5D
• generic preference-weighted measures
• HUI3
• QALYs
• quality of life
• QWB
• regression methods
• responsiveness
• SF-6D
• validity