Assigning Value to Health-Related Outcomes
The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research NWO funded a research study that describes the means by which individuals understand and rate their health. Findings from the study were published in the the journal Value in Health.
The study evaluated the various biases that interplay in the ratings of health. It also tackles differences in health valuation between patients and the general public.
An important differentiation is the personalization of health, which patients do by rating their own health status. This is compared to the general public, which considers scenarios. Another difference between the two is the expanse of factors which patients consider in assessment, compared to the public. Patients consider factors such as overall wellbeing, means to cope with poor health, and issues beyond physical limitations.
An additional goal of the research was to link data that evaluates cost-effectiveness to the value of health, applying principles from cost assessment. This work may provide a means to more precisely examine health related beliefs and values.
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July 6, 2007 Related topics: Benchmarking