Preferences and evaluation
Preferences and evaluation
IHE helps decision-makers, organisations and other stakeholders in healthcare, social care and prevention understand how individuals’ quality of life and well-being are affected by different health conditions and treatments.
We use both established and innovative methods based on economic theory to identify key drivers of value and develop tailored instruments for data collection among patients, carers and the general population.
Projects are conducted in close collaboration with relevant stakeholders, with IHE taking overall responsibility for the entire process, from questionnaire development and data collection, to analysis and communication of results and conclusions.
IHE offers services including:
- Quantitative assessment of how diseases, injuries and other health conditions affect quality of life and well-being (burden of disease)
- Estimation of how quality of life and well-being change with a new treatment or intervention (valuation)
- Studies of which individuals derive the greatest benefit from a treatment (preference heterogeneity)
- Analyses of which aspects and attributes of health conditions and treatments have the greatest impact on quality of life and well-being (attribute studies)
- Estimation of values not captured by traditional measures in health economics (for example, the value of reduced treatment risk and the value of treatment gains in more severe conditions)
- Literature reviews and policy discussions with relevant societal stakeholders on challenges related to valuation and preferences (for example, valuation of care of older adults)
Examples of IHE projects in preferences and valuation
Quality of life in migraine, traffic injuries and pandemics
These studies examine quality of life using the standardised EQ-5D questionnaire, administered to members of the Swedish Headache Association (migraine), individuals registered in the Swedish Transport Agency’s Strada database (traffic injuries), and population samples recruited through online panels (pandemic).
https://ihe.se/publicering/burden-and-costs-of-migraine-2/
Highly valued treatment attributes in phenylketonuria (PKU) and diabetes
These studies examine which attributes of different treatments individuals value most highly, using methods such as time trade-off (TTO), discrete choice experiments (DCEs) and willingness to pay (WTP).
https://ihe.se/publicering/the-impact-on-quality-of-life-of-phenylketonuria/
https://ihe.se/publicering/wtp-survey-diabetic-non-diabetic-population-sweden/
Public preferences for the organisation of elderly care and primary care
Commissioned by, and in collaboration with, the Swedish Agency for Health and Care Services Analysis, IHE has conducted studies of public preferences for elderly care and primary care using discrete choice experiments (DCEs) and willingness-to-pay (WTP) methods.
https://ihe.se/publicering/digitala-vardbesok/
The value of a new mode of drug administration
IHE has examined how people with allergies, multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease value new ways of receiving their medication. These studies used willingness-to-pay (WTP) methods.
https://ihe.se/rapport/vardet-av-ett/
The value of health
IHE has conducted several studies examining how the general population values health, including in the areas of cancer and traffic injuries. The studies have used willingness-to-pay (WTP) methods to estimate the value of a quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and the value of a statistical life (VSL). Some of this work is conducted as part of research funded by organisations including the Swedish Transport Administration.
https://ihe.se/publicering/dread-and-risk-elimination-premium-2/
https://ihe.se/publicering/value-of-a-qaly-2/
https://ihe.se/publicering/end-of-life-premium-in-cancer/
Policy projects on valuation
In these projects, IHE reviews and analyses current issues related to valuation. Examples include how the so-called threshold value should be determined, which elements of value should be included in a health economic evaluation in light of the debate surrounding the so-called value flower, and how value should be measured in elderly care.
https://ihe.se/publicering/att-kartlagga-vardet-av-aldreomsorg/