scholarly journals Estimating the monetary value of health and capability well-being applying the well-being valuation approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 1235-1244
Author(s):  
Sebastian Himmler ◽  
Job van Exel ◽  
Werner Brouwer

Abstract Background Quality of life measures going beyond health, like the ICECAP-A, are gaining importance in health technology assessment. The assessment of the monetary value of gains in this broader quality of life is needed to use these measurements in a cost-effectiveness framework. Methods We applied the well-being valuation approach to calculate a first monetary value for capability well-being in comparison to health, derived by ICECAP-A and EQ-5D-5L, respectively. Data from an online survey administered in February 2018 to a representative sample of UK citizens aged 18–65 was used (N = 1512). To overcome the endogeneity of income, we applied an instrumental variable regression. Several alternative model specifications were calculated to test the robustness of the results. Results The base case empirical estimate for the implied monetary value of a year in full capability well-being was £66,597. The estimate of the monetary value of a QALY, obtained from the same sample and using the same methodology amounted to £30,786, which compares well to previous estimates from the willingness to pay literature. Throughout the conducted robustness checks, the value of capability well-being was found to be between 1.7 and 2.6 times larger than the value of health. Conclusion While the applied approach is not without limitations, the generated insights, especially concerning the relative magnitude of valuations, may be useful for decision-makers having to decide based on economic evaluations using the ICECAP-A measure or, to a lesser extent, other (capability) well-being outcome measures.

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2648
Author(s):  
Shila Minari Hargreaves ◽  
Eduardo Yoshio Nakano ◽  
Heesup Han ◽  
António Raposo ◽  
Antonio Ariza-Montes ◽  
...  

This study aimed to evaluate the general quality of life (QoL) of Brazilian vegetarians. A cross-sectional study was conducted with Brazilian vegetarian adults (18 years old and above). Individuals were recruited to participate in a nationwide online survey that comprised the WHOQOL-BREF as well as sociodemographic and characterization questions related to vegetarianism. The WHOQOL-BREF is composed of 24 items which are divided into four domains (domain 1: physical health; domain 2: psychological well-being; domain 3: social relationships; and domain 4: environment), plus two general items which were analyzed separately, totaling 26 items. The answers from the questionnaire were converted into scores with a 0–100 scale range, with separate analyses for each domain. Results were compared among groups based on the different characteristics of the vegetarian population. A total of 4375 individuals completed the survey. General average score results were 74.67 (domain 1), 66.71 (domain 2), 63.66 (domain 3) and 65.76 (domain 4). Vegans showed better scores when compared to the other vegetarians, except in domain four, where the statistical difference was observed only for semi-vegetarians (lower score). Individuals adopting a vegetarian diet for longer (>1 year) showed better results for domains one and two, with no difference for the other domains. Having close people also adopting a vegetarian diet positively influenced the results for all domains. On the other hand, it was not possible to distinguish any clear influence of the motivation for adopting a vegetarian diet on the scores’ results. Adopting a vegetarian diet does not have detrimental effects on one’s QoL. In fact, the more plant-based the diet, and the longer it was adopted, the better the results were.


Author(s):  
Tran Thu Ngan ◽  
Vu Quynh Mai ◽  
Hoang Van Minh ◽  
Michael Donnelly ◽  
Ciaran O’Neill

Abstract Purpose This study compared the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of breast cancer (BC) patients, survivors, and age-matched women from the general population in Vietnam to address the paucity of HRQoL research and contribute to the robust assessment of BC screening and care in Vietnam. Methods The standardised EQ-5D-5L instrument was incorporated in an online survey and a hospital-based face-to-face survey, and together with data from the Vietnam EQ-5D-5L norms study. χ2 tests assessed EQ-5D health profile associations and a Tobit regression model investigated the association between overall health status (EQ-VAS/utility scores) and sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Results A total of 309 participants (107 patients undergoing treatment and 202 survivors who had completed treatment) provided usable responses. The dimensions that affected mostly the HRQoL of women with BC were pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. Current patients and survivors differed significantly regarding HRQoL dimensions of mobility, self-care, usual activities, and anxiety/depression. Their health utilities were 0.74 and 0.84, respectively, compared with 0.91 for age-matched Vietnamese women in the general population (p < 0.001). Treatment status (survivor vs patient), younger age, higher monthly household income, and higher education levels were associated with higher health utility. Conclusions The results point to unmet needs in mental health support and well-being and for attention to be given to the development of a biopsychosocial system of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and care. The results will also inform future assessments of the comparative value for money of interventions intended to impact on breast cancer in Vietnam.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateusz Babicki ◽  
Krzysztof Kowalski ◽  
Bogna Bogudzińska ◽  
Agnieszka Mastalerz-Migas

The COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on human life. This study aims to assess the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms, and the assessment of the quality of life in different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic based on an online nationwide survey. The study was based on a voluntary, anonymous, and authors' own questionnaire. The first section assesses sociodemographic status. Then, standardized psychometric tools were used such as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7), and the Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life (MANSA). The study was conducted in three stages corresponding to the waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. The survey involved 5,790 respondents; 2,457, 1,626, and 1,707 for the first, second, and third pandemic wave, respectively. It was found that anxiety and depressive symptoms increased as the pandemic progressed. There was no significant effect on the subjective quality-of-life assessment. Moreover, there was a gradual decrease in anxiety about being infected with COVID-19 as well as reduced adherence to the Minister of Health's recommendations. As the COVID-19 pandemic progressed, depressive and anxiety symptoms increased among Poles. Women, singles, and people with prior psychiatric treatment are more likely to develop the aforementioned symptoms.


Author(s):  
Christoph Pieh ◽  
Thomas Probst ◽  
Sanja Budimir ◽  
Elke Humer

This study investigated the association of relationship quality with several well-being measures during the COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom. An online survey was conducted on a study sample (n = 682) measuring relationship quality with the Quality of Marriage Index, and well-being measures including quality of life (WHO-QoL BREF), well-being (WHO-5), perceived stress (PSS-10), depressive (PHQ-9), and anxiety (GAD-7) symptoms. Good relationship quality goes along with higher scores in well-being (WHO-5), quality of life (WHO-QoL BREF), psychological domain, physical health, social relationships, environment, and reduced scores in stress (PSS-10), depressive (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) symptoms compared with poor relationship quality (p < 0.001). Moreover, 21% of participants living in relationships with poor quality stated that they drink significantly more alcohol since the initial COVID-19 restrictions, compared to 10% of participants with good quality (p = 0.002). Living in a good relationship seems to be an advantage, whereas those with poor relationship quality are particularly more burdened and drink significantly more alcohol during the COVID-19 lockdown.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao Xiong ◽  
Hongyan Wu ◽  
Judy Xu

Abstract Purpose We aimed to conduct psychometric tests for the Chinese version of ICEpop CAPability measure for Adults (ICECAP-A) and use the instrument to analyze the quality of life (QoL) for Chinese type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients. Methods Data were collected from a sample of 492 Chinese T2DM patients. The reliability and validity of the ICECAP-A were verified. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and polychoric correlation analysis were conducted for both the ICECAP-A and EQ-5D-3L. Results Our results show that the Chinese version of ICECAP-A has good internal consistency with an overall Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of 0.721. The mean scores of ICECAP-A and EQ-5D-3L are 0.85 vs. 0.94. A weak correlation (r = 0.116) was found between the ICECAP-A and EQ-5D-3L tariff scores. EFA showed that although the five dimensions of the ICECAP-A and EQ-5D-3L scales were loaded into two different factors respectively. However, the two scales captured different dimensions of quality of life and can complement each other. The ICECAP-A, EQ-5D-3L, and EQ-VAS scores showed differences across different socio-demographic characteristics and clinic conditions groups. Conclusion The Chinese version of the ICECAP-A capability instrument can be for assessing outcomes in adults with T2DM. It may capture more dimensions of QoL than traditional Health-related QoL (HRQoL) instruments and may be useful for economic evaluations of health care and social care for people with T2DM or other chronic diseases.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tran Thu Ngan ◽  
Vu Quynh Mai ◽  
Hoang Van Minh ◽  
Michael Donnelly ◽  
Ciaran O’Neill

Abstract Background This study compared the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of BC patients, survivors, and age-matched women from the general population in Vietnam in order to address the paucity of HRQoL research and contribute to the robust assessment of breast cancer (BC) screening and care in Vietnam. Methods The standardised EQ-5D-5L instrument was incorporated in an online survey and a hospital-based face-to-face survey, and together with data from the Vietnam EQ-5D-5L norms Study. χ2 tests assessed EQ-5D health profile associations and a Tobit regression model investigated the association between overall health status (EQ-VAS/utility scores) and sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Results A total of 309 participants (107 patients undergoing treatment and 202 survivors who had completed treatment) provided usable responses. The dimensions that affected most the HRQoL of women with BC were pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. Current patients and survivors differed significantly regarding HRQoL dimensions of mobility, self-care, usual activities, and anxiety/depression. Their health utilities were 0.74 and 0.84, respectively, compared with 0.91 for age-matched Vietnamese women in the general population (p < 0.001). Treatment status (survivor vs patient), younger age, higher monthly household income, and higher education levels were associated with higher health utility. Conclusions The results point to unmet needs in mental health support and well-being and for attention to be given to the development of a biopsychosocial system of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and care. The results will also inform future assessments of the comparative value for money of interventions intended to impact on breast cancer in Vietnam.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1444
Author(s):  
Mateusz Babicki ◽  
Wojciech Malchrzak ◽  
Anna Hans-Wytrychowska ◽  
Agnieszka Mastalerz-Migas

The pandemic state has a destructive effect on the human psyche and induces fear for one’s own health. By reducing the risk of severe COVID-19, vaccination may indirectly improve the mental state. This study aims to assess the effects of vaccination on respondents’ mental well-being, their attitudes towards adherence to government recommendations limiting viral transmission, and to identify factors that may influence the decision to get vaccinated. The survey took the form of the authors’ own, fully voluntary, anonymous, online questionnaire. Standardised psychometric tools were used in the survey: Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) and Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life (MANSA). The survey involved 1696 respondents, the vast majority of whom were women, and were aged 18–29. The vaccination status was declared by 1677 respondents (98.9%), 430 (25.4%) of whom were vaccinated with at least one dose of vaccine, while 303 (17.9%) respondents were not only unvaccinated at all, and declared no intention to get vaccinated in the future. Fully vaccinated individuals were found to have lower levels of anxiety, higher MANSA scores and lower subjective anxiety about being infected with COVID-19 than those awaiting vaccination or those with an incomplete vaccination regimen (one dose). Those who are not willing to get vaccinated have the lowest sense of anxiety and fear of being infected and they have the lowest adherence to government recommendations limiting SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Conclusions: COVID-19 vaccination reduces the level of anxiety about being infected and anxiety due to COVID-19 disease in people from the immediate environment. Those who are not willing to get vaccinated have extreme attitudes that negate the pandemic as a whole, including the need for COVID-19 vaccination. Fully vaccinated individuals still adhere to the SARS-CoV-2 prevention policies in place.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (S1) ◽  
pp. 31-31
Author(s):  
India Flint ◽  
Jasmina Medjedovic ◽  
Ewa Drogon O'Flaherty ◽  
Elena Alvarez-Baron ◽  
Karthinathan Thangavelu ◽  
...  

IntroductionFocal-onset-seizures (FOS) are commonly experienced by individuals with epilepsy and have a significant impact on quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to develop a mapping algorithm to predict the 6 dimension short form questionnaire (SF-6D) values in adults with FOS for use in economic evaluations of a new treatment, cenobamate.MethodsAn online survey, including questions on sociodemographic, disease history, the short form (SF) 36, and an epilepsy-specific measure (quality of life in epilepsy problems questionnaire, QOLIE-31-P) was administered to individuals with drug-resistant FOS in the top 5 EU countries (UK, Spain, Germany, Italy and France). A range of regression models were fitted to SF-6D scores including direct and response mapping approaches.ResultsThe analysis included 361 people. In the previous 28 days, the mean number of FOS experienced was three, (range: 0–43) and longest seizure-free period was 14 days (range: 1–28). Mean responses on all SF-36 dimensions were lower than general population norms. Mean SF-6D and QOLIE-31-P scores were 0.584 and 45.72, respectively. The best performing model was the ordinary least squares (OLS), with root mean squared error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) values of 0.0977 and 0.0742, respectively. Explanatory variables which best predicted SF-6D included seizure frequency, seizure severity, seizure freedom, and age.ConclusionsPeople with drug-resistant FOS have poor QoL. The mapping algorithm enables the prediction of SF-6D values from clinical outcomes in individuals with drug-resistant FOS. It can be applied to outcome data from clinical trials to facilitate cost-utility analysis.


BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. e015924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Mpundu-Kaambwa ◽  
Gang Chen ◽  
Elisabeth Huynh ◽  
Remo Russo ◽  
Julie Ratcliffe

IntroductionCerebral palsy is the most common cause of physical disability in children and adolescents and is associated with impairments that may reduce the quality of life (QOL) of this population. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) can facilitate the assessment of the effect of disease and treatment on QOL, from a patient viewpoint. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify PROMs that are used to measure QOL and subjective well-being (SWB) outcomes in young people with cerebral palsy and to evaluate the suitability of these PROMs for application in economic evaluations within this population.Methods and analysisMEDLINE, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science Core Collection, EconLit, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE and Informit will be systematically searched from inception to date of search. Published peer-reviewed, English-language articles reporting PROMs measuring QOL or SWB outcomes in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy will be included. One reviewer will conduct the initial search and screen titles and abstracts for potentially eligible studies. The search will be performed in November 2017. To reduce the likelihood of reviewer selection bias, two other reviewers will independently screen a randomly selected subsample (10%) of the citations. Two reviewers will then retrieve full texts of potentially eligible studies and assess them against predefined inclusion criteria. The suitability of selected PROMs for use in economic evaluations of young people with cerebral palsy will be assessed using the International Society of Quality of Life Research recommended Minimum Standards and the Patient-Centered Outcomes and Comparative Effectiveness Research checklist. A narrative synthesis of extracted data will be presented including study descriptive data, PROMs measurement properties, settings in which they were applied and the valuation methods. Recommendations for practice on the selection of PROMs for use in economic evaluations of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy will be presented.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not required as the proposed systematic review will not use primary data. The results of this study will be widely disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed journal and conference presentation(s).Systematic review registration numberInternational Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews number: CRD42016049746.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean Tripp ◽  
Valentina Mihajlovic ◽  
Katherine Fretz ◽  
Gagan Fervaha ◽  
Jason Izard ◽  
...  

Introduction: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common non-cutaneous cancer in men and is usually identified at a stage at which prolonged survival is expected. Therefore, strategies to address survivorship and promote well-being are crucial. This study’s aim was to better understand suicidal behavior in PCa patients by examining psychosocial mediators (i.e., depression, psychache, perceived burdensomeness [PB], thwarted belongingness [TB]) in the relationship between quality of life (PCa-QoL) and suicide risk. Methods: Four hundred and six men with PCa (Median age 69.35 years, standard deviation 7.79) completed an online survey on various psychosocial variables associated with suicide risk. A combined serial/parallel mediation model tested whether depression, in serial with both psychache and PB/TB, mediated the relationship between PCa-QoL and suicide risk. Results: Over 14% of participants’ self-reports indicated clinically significant suicide risk. Poorer PCa-QoL was related to greater depression, which was related to both greater psychache and PB/TB, which was associated with greater suicide risk. The serial mediation effect of depression and psychache was significantly stronger than that of depression and PB/TB. PCa-QoL did not predict suicide risk through depression alone, showing that depressive symptoms affect suicide risk through psychache and PB/TB. Conclusions: Given the alarming estimate of individuals at-risk for suicide in this study, clinicians should consider patients with poorer PCa-QoL and elevated depression for psychosocial referral or management. Psychache (i.e., psychological pain) and PB/TB (i.e., poor social fit) may be important targets for reducing suicide risk intervention beyond the impact of depression alone.


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