The Q in the Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY): Exploring New Methods (MOMENTUM)

May 6, 2013 updated by: Iris Maes, Maastricht University Medical Center

The Q in the QALY: Exploring New Methods

Aim: The aim of this proposal is to investigate the potential use and value of experienced utility, as measured by the Experience Sampling Method and the Day Reconstruction Method, in the economic evaluation of health care.

Methods: Three samples of 46 patients with different conditions one sample of 46 healthy controls will be included in the study. The Experience Sampling Method (ESM) and the Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) will be adapted and subsequently used to measure experienced utility. Decision utilities will be elicited by traditional preference based methods.

Expected results: The expected results of this study are threefold. First, unified versions of the ESM and DRM for use in the economic evaluation of health care will be developed and applied. Second, a rich dataset will allow us to investigate the differences between the results of experienced utilities derived from these methods, with the traditional preference based measures. Third, the normative implications of the use of QALYs based on either decision utilities, experienced utilities, or a combination of the two, for health care resource allocation decisions, will be examined.

Keywords: experienced utility, decision utility, subjective well-being, experience sampling method, day reconstruction method

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

This study explores new methodology regarding the measurement of health state utilities. A new pharmaceutical is nowadays only reimbursed if there is evidence of cost-effectiveness. This can be determined by different types of economic evaluations, of which cost-utility analysis (CUA) is preferred in most guidelines. In CUA the health outcome of a technology is measured in quality adjusted life years (QALY). Utilities to calculate QALYs should be based on decisions under uncertainty (decision utilities). However, the health care literature describes several problems that lead to bias in the measurement of decision utilities. These biases lead to an inaccurate estimation of the value of a health state and can therefore cause policy makers to allocate resources inefficiently. To solve some of these problems, it was suggested to determine experiences associated with different health states by measuring well-being moment-to-moment (experienced utility) by the Experience Sampling Method or the Day Reconstruction Method.

Differences between the utilities measured using traditional preference based measures (decision utility), and using the new state-of-art methods ESM and DRM (experienced utility) in a range of populations with differing conditions and severity of health state will be investigated. Since somatic, psychosomatic and psychological conditions are likely to differ in the way they experience and affect well-being, we will involve patient groups from each category in this study as well as healthy controls.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

139

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Limburg
      • Hoensbroek, Limburg, Netherlands, 6430AB
        • Adelante
      • Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands, 6227 AZ
        • Maastricht University Medical Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients will be recruited from the Maastricht University Medical Hospital or Adelante centre of expertise in rehabilitation and audiology. Healthy controls will be recruited by advertisement in local newspapers and flyers.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnose on one of the diseases under investigation
  • 18 years or older

Exclusion Criteria:

  • not being able to read in Dutch
  • not able to handle the ESM device because of impaired motor skills

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Tinnitus
Patients with tinnitus
Artery disease
Subjects with mobility constraints as a results of severe artery disease which in some cases led to leg amputation.
Anxiety
Subjects with anxiety complaints
Controls
Healthy controls

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quality of Life
Time Frame: During 1 week
The primary outcome measure of this study is quality of life as measured with a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the EuroQol, the Experience Sampling Method, the Day Reconstruction Method and the Time trade-off.
During 1 week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Life satisfaction
Time Frame: 2 times
Life satisfaction as mesured with te Satisfaction with Life Scale.
2 times

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Iris Maes, MSc, Maastricht Universitair Medical Centre
  • Principal Investigator: Manuela Joore, PhD, Maastricht University Medical Centre

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

April 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 10, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 10, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

March 11, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

May 7, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 6, 2013

Last Verified

May 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 80-82500-98-9207

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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