Age dependency of EQ-5D-Youth health states valuations on a visual analogue scale

Jim G. A. Retra,Manuela A. Joore,Silvia M. A. A. Evers,Brigitte A. B. Essers,Carmen D. Dirksen

doi:10.1186/s12955-020-01638-z

Jim G. A. Retra, Manuela A. Joore + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-020-01638-z

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Abstract

BackgroundExamine whether the use of different ages has an impact on the valuation of EQ-5D-Y health states for a hypothetical child or adolescent.MethodsA survey was administered during regular classes among a convenience sample of university students in the Netherlands. Respondents first valued 6 EQ-5D-Y health states (2 mild, 2 moderate, 2 severe) describing a hypothetical child/adolescent of a certain age on a visual analogue scale (VAS). After 1 h respondents valued the same six health states again but this time the age of the child was different. Age differed between 4, 10 and 16 year old.ResultsNumber of respondents was 311. No significant differences in valuation of the six health states were found between the age of 10 and 16. One moderate health state was valued significantly better for a 4-year old compared to a 10 and a 16 year old. The same applied for one severe health state that was valued higher for a 4-year old compared to a 16-year old.ConclusionOur study shows that, except for one moderate and one severe health state, other EQ-5D-Y health states were not valued significantly different when description of age differed. It is possible that problems in specific health domains are considered more severe for older children/adolescents compared to younger children who might still be dependent on their caregivers. Future research should examine whether our findings are also present in a broader set of EQ-5D-Y health states, with a choice-based method like TTO or DCE, and a more heterogeneous sample.

Highlights

Examine whether the use of different ages has an impact on the valuation of Euroqol-5 dimensions-youth (EQ-5D-Y) health states for a hypothetical child or adolescent
This is acknowledged in the international valuation protocol for the EQ-5D-Y-3L in which the authors describe that as preferences regarding the health of 10 year old children might differ from preferences regarding the health of children or adolescents of other ages, further research is needed on this topic [9]
Given the potential difficulties with valuing health states by children, the valuation of EQ-5D-Y health states could be performed by a sample of the general population

Summary

Introduction

Examine whether the use of different ages has an impact on the valuation of EQ-5D-Y health states for a hypothetical child or adolescent. Interest in the use of preference based outcomes for economic evaluations in the paediatric population has increased [1,2,3] Despite this attention, there is still a lack of child specific values for health states. For the development of the EQ-5D-3L tariff, a representative sample of the general population was asked to imagine and value a hypothetical health state description from their own perspective [6]. The question is whether valuations for health states are different when it concerns children or adolescents, as this reflects a much smaller age range than in the above mentioned studies. This is acknowledged in the international valuation protocol for the EQ-5D-Y-3L in which the authors describe that as preferences regarding the health of 10 year old children might differ from preferences regarding the health of children or adolescents of other ages, further research is needed on this topic [9]

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