Methods for estimating changes in health-related quality of life (HRQL) for children have lagged behind comparable research for adults, yet are essential to better support economic evaluation. Ellen Kim DeLuca discussed a new approach, the PedsUtil, for addressing this problem in a recent CHDS seminar. DeLuca is a Harvard-wide Pediatric Health Services Research Fellow in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute.
Current methods to address child health vary considerably, and there is a paucity of preference-based HRQL instruments for use across a wide range of pediatric age groups. The PedsQL is designed for children 2-18 years old and includes four HRQL dimensions: physical functioning, emotional functioning, social functioning, and school functioning. The items included in each dimension vary by age group.
Deluca’s team developed a health utility scoring system for the PedsQL: the PedsUtil. They first analyzed the PedsQL items to determine which could be excluded for valuation purposes. They then developed and fielded preference valuation surveys, which relied on discrete choice experiments as well as visual analog scales and time trade-off methods. PedsUtil combines the results to weight each health state.
Learn more: Teaching Pack: Valuing Individual Health Outcomes
Learn more: Read the article, Preference Elicitation Techniques Used in Valuing Children’s Health-Related Quality of Life: A Systematic Review
Related news: FAMNET Online Instrument Repositories
Related news: Recommendations Issued for Inclusion of Family Spillover Effects in CEA