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. 2016 Oct;34(10):993-1004.
doi: 10.1007/s40273-016-0404-1.

EuroQol Protocols for Time Trade-Off Valuation of Health Outcomes

Mark Oppe  1 , Kim Rand-Hendriksen  2   3 , Koonal Shah  4 , Juan M Ramos-Goñi  1 , Nan Luo  5
Affiliations

EuroQol Protocols for Time Trade-Off Valuation of Health Outcomes

Mark Oppe et al. Pharmacoeconomics. 2016 Oct.

Abstract

The time trade-off (TTO) valuation technique is widely used to determine utility values of health outcomes to inform quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) calculations for use in economic evaluation. Protocols for implementing TTO vary in aspects such as the trade-off framework, iteration procedure and its administration model and method, training of respondents and interviewers, and quality control of data collection. The most widely studied and utilized TTO valuation protocols are the Measurement and Valuation of Health (MVH) protocol, the Paris protocol and the EuroQol Valuation Technology (EQ-VT) protocol, all developed by members of the EuroQol Group. The MVH protocol and its successor, the Paris protocol, were developed for valuation of EQ-5D-3L health states. Both protocols were designed for a trained interviewer to elicit preferences from a respondent using the conventional TTO framework with a fixed time horizon of 10 years and an iteration procedure combining bisection and titration. Developed for valuation of EQ-5D-5L health states, the EQ-VT protocol adopted a composite TTO framework and made use of computer technology to facilitate data collection. Training and monitoring of interviewers and respondents is a pivotal component of the EQ-VT protocol. Research is underway aiming to further improve the EuroQol protocols, which form an important basis for the current practice of health technology assessment in many countries.

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Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with Ethical Standards Funding This work is partially supported by the EuroQol Research Foundation. Conflict of interest All authors are members of the EuroQol Group. Disclaimer The views of the authors expressed in the paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the EuroQol Group. Part of the content of this paper was presented in a workshop at the 2014 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Asia–Pacific Congress in Beijing, China.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conventional time trade-off. h impaired health state, U(h) value of state h, x time in full health, t time in state h
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Lead-time time trade-off. h impaired health state, U(h) value of state h, x time in full health, l lead time, t time in state h
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The visual aids used in the MVH and Paris protocols. a Visual aid for valuation of states considered to be better than death; b visual aid for valuation of states considered to be worse than death. MVH measurement and valuation of health
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The visual aids used in the EQ-VT protocol. a Visual aid for valuation of states considered to be better than death; b visual aid for valuation of states considered to be worse than death. EQ-VT EuroQol valuation technology
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
The iteration schemes of the EuroQol protocols. h target health state, U(h) value of state h, x time in full health. For states considered better than death, all three protocols present life A as x years in full health and life B as 10 years in the target state. For states considered worse than death, the MVH and Paris protocols present life A as 10-x years in the target state followed by x years in full health, and life B as immediate death; in the EQ-VT, life A is presented as x years in full health and life B as 10 years in full health followed by 10 years in the target state. In the MVH and Paris protocols, the tasks proceed along the directions of the arrows until indifference or the end of the branch in the graph is reached. In the EQ-VT, the tasks terminate only when indifference is stated, and the direction of the tasks can be reversed at any point
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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