Background: There is no mechanism to predict health utility (HU) values from the University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire (UWQoL) scores. We sought to develop a mapping algorithm capable of using UWQoL data to approximate HU scores.
Methods: Outpatients with head and neck cancer completed the UWQoL, EQ-5D, and the Health Utilities Index-Mark 3 (HUI-3). Results of the UWQoL were mapped onto both EQ-5D and HUI-3 scores using ordinary least-squares regression models. Two-part models were explored. The predictive power of the model was assessed using 10-fold cross-validation.
Results: A total of 209 patients were recruited. The reduced model converting UWQoL data into EQ-5D scores performed best (adjusted R2 = 0.628, root mean square error = 0.076). Both models demonstrated construct validity by discriminating between clinical indices of disease severity.
Conclusions: The abovementioned algorithms enable researchers to perform health economic evaluations with existing UWQoL data in cases where prospectively collected HU values are not available.
Keywords: EQ-5D; QALYs; University of Washington Quality of life questionnaire; cross-walking; head and neck cancer (HNC); health state utility values (HSUVs); health utilities index mark 3; health-related quality of life (HRQoL); mapping algorithms; multi-attribute utility instruments (MAUIs); preference-based measures.
© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.