A Review of the Development and Application of Generic Multi-Attribute Utility Instruments for Paediatric Populations

How do Health State Values Differ When Respondents Consider Adults Versus Children Living in Those States? A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVES

This systematic review examines how different perspectives influence the valuation of child health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Specifically, it explores differences in values when health states are assessed by children, adolescents, or adults (or some combination of these), from the perspective of the first person (self) or the third person (other), and whether specifying (or not) the age of the person living the described health state affects the valuations. Recent studies suggest discrepancies for descriptively similar health states potentially owing to differences in respondents' willingness to trade length-of-life for quality-of-life for children, though findings are inconsistent. This review aims to assess: (1) differences in peoples' willingness to trade, (2) differences between the relative importance of dimensions, and (3) factors influencing these differences.

METHODS

This systematic review follows PRISMA guidelines. A search in Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, and EconLit up to November 2024 was undertaken. We included studies where different perspectives and different valuation instruments were considered. We extracted information on study characteristics, instruments, valuation methods, perspective, study design, analytical methods, sample characteristics, differences in values by respondents, and perspective. A multi-level meta-regression assessed the impact of factors affecting the mean differences between perspectives.

RESULTS

In total, 24 studies were included, which were from 2004 to 2024. Studies used a range of preference elicitation methods and nearly half (38%) used mixed valuation methods. Most studies (71%) used the EQ- 5D-Y- 3L instrument. Overall, 54% of studies compared adults valuing health states for themselves, or other adult versus adults valuing for other children or themselves as children. The multi-level meta-regression found that the severity of the health state and the valuation method has a significant impact on the mean differences between child and adult values for child health states. In most of the studies when adults are respondents, pain or discomfort was considered as the most important dimension. When adolescent respondents value health states the results are mixed. Qualitative studies identified respondents' difficulty imagining a child in ill health and becoming emotional while thinking about child poor health and early death as potential reasons behind differences in child values versus adult values.

CONCLUSIONS

The evidence suggests that differences in mean values arise when different perspectives are used in valuing severe child health states by adults. These differences are influenced by factors such as health state severity and valuation method. While the review identified the key factors influencing the differences in mean values, an uncertainty remains regarding the optimal choice of preference elicitation and anchoring methods for child health state valuations. Addressing these gaps could refine future valuation methods for child health-related quality-of-life instruments.

Measurement Properties of the EQ-5D Instruments in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

The EQ-5D instruments have been widely used to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in child and adolescent populations, especially the EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L (beta version). Although not specifically designed for younger users, the adult versions (EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L) are also used in these populations. While the measurement properties of these instruments have been evaluated in children and adolescents, no systematic review to date has employed a rigorous method to assess risk of bias. Additionally, quality criteria for good measurement properties and certainty of evidence have not been thoroughly evaluated. The aim of this study was to summarize and critically appraise the evidence on the measurement properties of all EQ-5D instruments in children and adolescents.

METHODS

We conducted electronic searches on MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, EconLit, National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database (NHS-EED), and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) databases up to May 2024. We included studies measuring HRQoL using either the self-reported or proxy-reported version of the EQ-5D instruments-EQ-5D-3L, EQ-5D-5L, EQ-5D-Y-3L, and EQ-5D-Y-5L-using the descriptive system, visual analogue scale, and/or utility score in children and adolescents up to 19 years of age, and that tested at least one measurement property (e.g., reliability). The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) methodology was followed to assess risk of bias, to score results for measurement properties, and to perform an evidence synthesis using a modified Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) approach.

RESULTS

From 3586 records identified through the search, 65 studies were included in this systematic review. We found moderate certainty of evidence of sufficient comprehensibility and comprehensiveness of the EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L. Furthermore, we found very low certainty of evidence of inconsistent relevance for the EQ-5D-Y-3L, whereas the EQ-5D-Y-5L had sufficient relevance. Almost all the measurement properties (reliability, hypothesis testing for construct validity, and responsiveness) considering all the EQ-5D versions ranged from moderate certainty of evidence of insufficient results to very low certainty of evidence of insufficient results.

CONCLUSION

There is moderate certainty of evidence that the EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L have sufficient content validity. Both instruments can be recommended to measure HRQoL in children and adolescents aged 8-15 years. However, most of the measurement properties across all EQ-5D versions showed insufficient results, with certainty of evidence ranging from moderate to very low due to inconsistency and doubtful to inadequate risk of bias. Therefore, further research is needed to improve the methodological quality of studies on EQ-5D instruments for children and adolescents.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

International prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO): CRD42020218382 and Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/r8kt9/ .

The Quality of Economic Evaluations of Interventions to Improve Women and Child Health in Latin America: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to characterize and assess the reporting and methodological quality of health economic evaluations (HEEs) of interventions to improve women's and children's health in Latin America from 2004 to 2023.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. PubMed was searched for HEEs published between 2004 and 2023. The search terms included HEEs or cost-benefit analysis, Latin America or Latin American countries, and pediatrics and/or gynecology. Articles were eligible for inclusion if they were HEEs; published in English, Spanish, or Portuguese; and focused on pediatrics and/or gynecology in Latin America. Data extraction included study characteristics, methodological aspects, reporting, and methodological quality based on the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards 2013 and Quality of Health Economic Studies checklists.

RESULTS

Of 141 articles identified, 55 met the inclusion criteria. Most articles were cost-effectiveness evaluations conducted in Colombia and were aimed at pediatric patients. The quality assessment revealed that most Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards and Quality of Health Economic Studies items were reported in at least 60% of the articles and that the study setting, justification for study perspective, bias acknowledgment, and subgroup analyses were the least frequently reported items.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights that although the number of HEEs in pediatrics and/or gynecology in Latin American countries is growing, to improve the transparency and generalizability of HEEs, the reporting and methodological quality of HEEs need to be improved. Seven key areas were identified for improving adherence to international quality standards.

Comparison of the early childhood oral health impact scale (ECOHIS-4D) and EuroQol-5D-Y for measuring oral health-related quality of life utility in children

PURPOSE

The psychometric properties of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS-4D), an oral health-related quality-of-life tool for children, and EuroQol 5D-Young (EQ-5D-Y), a commonly used generic quality-of-life tool for children, were compared across a clinical severity index to determine which tool is better for measuring oral health-related quality of life in children.

METHODS

Delayed and filled surfaces score (dfs) was calculated for under six-year-old children at the recruitment and one year later. ECOHIS-4D and EQ-5D were filled out on both occasions. The following properties were examined: (i) Content validity by comparing mean utility values using the Wilcoxson Signed Rank Test and Bland Altman Test, (ii) Construct validity (ability to discriminate between groups of different clinical severity) by examining effect size between severity groups (iii) Responsiveness (for changes in health status) using floor and ceiling effect, standard response mean and linear regression (iv) Correlation between the utilities and dfs.

RESULTS

Respectively, 287 and 189 children were examined at the baseline and follow-up. Mean utility estimates from the tools were significantly different. All items of EQ-5D-Y showed high ceiling effects compared to items of ECOHIS-4D. Only the utility scores of ECOHIS-4D showed a significant association with the dfs score (β=-0.003, 95%CI=-0.004 to -0.002) in the linear regression models. Utility values form ECOHIS-4D, but not EQ-5D-Y correlated with the dfs (spearman's r=-0.33, 95%CI -0.43 to -0.23).

CONCLUSION

ECOHIS-4D performs better than EQ-5D-Y in assessing young children's oral health-related quality of life.

How do children understand and respond to the EQ-5D-Y-3L? A mixed methods study in a community-based sample of 6-12-year-olds

BACKGROUND

The EQ-5D-Y-3L is widely used for measuring and valuing HRQoL in paediatric populations. This mixed methods study used the EQ-5D-Y-3L measure and applied a retrospective think-aloud approach to examine the self-report validity in children of varying chronological age.

METHODS

A mixed methods study was conducted in a community-based sample of 39 children aged 6-12 years. In a semi-structured interview, children self-completed the EQ-5D-Y-3L and then engaged in retrospective think-aloud. Conversations were audio-recorded and transcribed for analysis in NVivo using the Tourangeau four-stage response model framework to assess comprehension, judgment, recall, and response mapping issues. Fisher's exact test was used to assess the differences between child-self reported HRQoL across subgroups. The inter-rater agreement between child-parent dyads was assessed with CCC for overall HRQoL and Gwet's AC1 for dimension level HRQoL.

RESULTS

Overall, response issues were detected in n = 18 (46%) children. Comprehension issues were apparent in the "having pain or discomfort" dimension where children found it challenging to understand 'discomfort'. Recall-related issues were observed where children's responses were influenced by their typical tendencies (e.g., being usually worried) or past incidences (e.g., feeling pain sometimes). Judgement-related issues were the most common, particularly in the "doing usual activities" dimension, where children tended to respond based on their self-perceived ability to engage in activities rather than health-related limitations. None of the participants were found to have problems with response mapping. A healthy lifestyle that included diet and exercise was a notable consideration in EQ VAS ratings. The younger age groups had a higher proportion of response issues (6-7 years: 64%, 8-10 years: 62%), compared to older children (11-12 years: 20%). Moreover, children with response issues demonstrated significantly lower EQ-5D-Y-3L scores (mean = 0.78, se = 0.04) as compared to those without (mean = 0.95, se = 0.02) (p-value < 0.001). The overall inter-rater agreement was higher for those without any response issues (CCC = 0.33) than those with (CCC = 0.14). Additionally, higher agreement was noted across all the five dimensions in the subgroup with no response issues relative to those with.

CONCLUSIONS

Children in the general community may have different perceptions of HRQoL when responding to the EQ-5D-Y-3L possibly due to their limited experience with health-related challenges. The retrospective think-aloud approach adopted highlighted the relatively higher prevalence of response issues in the younger children (ages < 11 years), indicating the need for careful interpretation of self-reported HRQoL using the current version of the EQ-5D-Y-3L in this population.

Practicality, Validity, and Responsiveness of Using the Proxy Version of the Child Health Utility-9 Dimensions With Children Aged 2 to 5 Years

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to assess the practicality, validity, and responsiveness of the proxy Child Health Utility-9 Dimensions (CHU9D) in children aged 2 to 5 years.

METHODS

We used data from the Barrier Enhancement for Eczema Prevention trial, a UK randomized controlled trial testing whether daily emollients in infancy could prevent eczema in high-risk infants. The main parent/carer completed the proxy CHU9D using developers' additional guidance for completion in those younger than 5 years and the Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) at ages 2, 3, 4, and 5 years. Practicality was assessed by completion rates. Construct validity assessed whether CHU9D could discriminate between those with/without eczema and between eczema severity levels on POEM. Responsiveness was determined by ability to discriminate between 3 groups: (1) those whose POEM score deteriorated ≥3 points, (2) those whose change was not clinically important (-2.9 to 2.9 points), and (3) those whose POEM score improved ≥3 points. Analysis was conducted in Stata 17.

RESULTS

Of 1394 children participating in the Barrier Enhancement for Eczema Prevention trial, study questionnaires were completed by 1212 (87%), 981 (70%), 990 (71%), and 976 (70%) at 2, 3, 4, and 5 years. Of these the CHU9D was completed by 1066 (88.0%), 685 (69.8%), 925 (93.4%), and 923 (94.6%), respectively. Mean utility at all time points was approximately 0.934 (range 0.443-1). For construct validity, very small differences in the CHU9D between known groups were observed (P < .01). A total of 801 participants had responsiveness data: 13% deteriorated, 72% had nonclinically important change, and 15% improved. Mean utility change (standardized response mean) for these groups was -0.0198 (0.21), 0.0041 (0.05), and 0.0175 (0.21) showing small change and small responsiveness.

CONCLUSIONS

Proxy CHU9D in 2- to 5-year-old children shows potential but further research is needed.

The development of a capability wellbeing measure in economic evaluation for children and young people aged 11-15

The capability approach provides a broad evaluative space for making funding decisions for health and care interventions, with capability wellbeing as the outcome of value. A range of capability measures have been developed for the economic evaluation of health and care interventions for adults. However, such measures have not been previously developed for children and young people for this purpose and may be valuable. This study aimed to identify important capabilities for children and young people aged 11-15, and to develop these into attributes for an economic measure that can inform funding decisions. Thirty-three qualitative in-depth interviews were undertaken with children and young people aged 11-15 (n = 19) and parents (n = 14) in urban and rural areas of England between September 2019 and November 2021. Purposeful maximum variation sampling ensured representation from different backgrounds. Children and young people were asked to think of things important to them and place these on sticky notes around a drawing/photograph of themselves; the interview asked them about these important things. Parents were asked to identify factors that enhanced and negatively impacted their child's quality of life. Analysis using constant comparison facilitated exploration of similarities and differences in important capabilities. A second phase of semi-structured interviews with children and young people (n = 15) explored how these attributes should be expressed in a meaningful way. Eight overarching capability wellbeing themes were identified, with some variation across children and young people, and parent groups: Fun and enjoyment; Learning and experiencing; Attachment; Emotional security andsupport; Achievement; Identity and choice; Physical safety; Aspiration. Potentially, this information will help to provide an alternative approach to the measurement of benefits to children and young people for economic evaluation of health and care interventions, one that will be better able to capture benefits associated with interventions to improve the social determinants of health.

Estimating an EQ-5D-Y-3L Value Set for Brazil

INTRODUCTION

The EQ-5D-Y-3L is a generic measure of health-related quality of life in children and adolescents. Although the Brazilian-Portuguese EQ-5D-Y-3L version is available, there is no value set for it, hampering its use in economic evaluations. This study aimed to elicit a Brazilian EQ-5D-Y-3L value set based on preferences of the general adult population.

METHODS

Two independent samples of adults participated in an online discrete choice experiment (DCE) survey and a composite time trade-off (cTTO) face-to-face interview. The framing was "considering your views for a 10-year-old child". DCE data were analyzed using a mixed-logit model. The 243 DCE predicted values were mapped into the observed 28 cTTO values using linear and non-linear mapping approaches with and without intercept. Mapping approaches' performance was assessed to estimate the most valid method to rescale DCE predicted values using the model fit (R2), Akaike Information Criteria (AIC), root mean squared error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE).

RESULTS

A representative sample of 1376 Brazilian adults participated (DCE, 1152; cTTO, 211). The linear mapping without intercept (R2 = 96%; AIC, - 44; RMSE, 0.0803; MAE, - 0.0479) outperformed the non-linear without intercept (R2 = 98%; AIC, - 63; RMSE, 0.1385; MAE, - 0.1320). Utilities ranged from 1 (full health) to - 0.0059 (the worst health state). Highest weights were assigned to having pain or discomfort (pain/discomfort), followed by walking about (mobility), looking after myself (self-care), doing usual activities (usual activities), and feeling worried, sad, or unhappy (anxiety/depression).

CONCLUSION

This study elicited the Brazilian EQ-5D-Y-3L value set using a mixed-logit DCE model with a power parameter based on a linear mapping without intercept, which can be used to estimate the quality-adjusted life-years for economic evaluations of health technologies targeting the Brazilian youth population.

An Investigation of Inter-Rater and Intra-Proxy Agreement in Measuring Quality of Life of Children in the Community Using the EQ-5D-Y-3L

BACKGROUND

Self-reporting of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children is not always feasible. To date, proxy perspectives (Proxy versions 1 and 2) using the EQ-5D-Y-3L have not been explored for its impact on agreement with child self-report. Proxy version 1 requires the proxy to consider their own view of the child's HRQoL (proxy-proxy), while with Proxy version 2, the proxy is asked to respond as they believe their child would self-report their HRQoL (proxy-child). This study compared the inter-rater and intra-proxy agreement (overall and dimension level) using the EQ-5D-Y-3L self, proxy-proxy, and proxy-child reports.

METHODS

A community-based sample of child (aged 6-12 years) and parent dyads were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview. The child self-completed the EQ-5D-Y-3L independently of the parent who completed the EQ-5D-Y-3L from proxy-proxy and proxy-child perspectives. Agreement was determined using Concordance Correlation Coefficients (CCCs) for the overall (preference-weighted) HRQoL, while agreement at the dimension level was evaluated using Gwet's agreement coefficient (AC1). To assess the differences between the self and the two proxy reports, the Wilcoxon matched-pair signed-rank test was used.

RESULTS

This study involved 85 child-parent dyads. The agreement between self and proxy overall HRQoL was low (fair) with both proxy-proxy (CCC = 0.28) and proxy-child (CCC = 0.26) reports. The largest discrepancy in the child-proxy agreement at dimension level with both the proxy versions was observed for 'feeling worried, sad or unhappy'. Within this dimension, the proxy-child perspective resulted in a stronger agreement (AC1 = 0.7, good) with child self-report compared with the traditional proxy-proxy perspective (AC1 = 0.58, moderate). Although the preference-weighted HRQoL was consistent across both the proxy perspectives, a significant difference was observed in the EQ VAS scores (p = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that choice of proxy perspective may have an impact on the problems reported on HRQoL dimensions and EQ VAS scores. However, in this community-based sample of generally healthy children, no significant difference was observed in the inter-rater agreement for child-self and proxy preference-weighted EQ-5D-Y-3L values based on proxy perspectives. While this suggests that preference-weighted data are not sensitive to the choice of perspective, these findings may differ for different HRQoL instruments and for alternative value sets with different properties.

Comparative Psychometric Performance of Common Generic Paediatric Health-Related Quality of Life Instrument Descriptive Systems: Results from the Australian Paediatric Multi-Instrument Comparison Study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to compare the psychometric performance of common generic paediatric health-related quality-of-life instrument descriptive systems (PedsQL generic core 4.0, EQ-5D-Y-3L, EQ-5D-Y-5L, Child Health Utility 9D [CHU9D], Assessment of Quality of Life 6D [AQoL-6D], and Health Utilities Index Mark 3 [HUI3]) by child age, report type, and health status.

METHODS

Data for children aged 5-18 years were from the Australian Paediatric Multi-Instrument Comparison study. Ceiling effects, test-retest reliability, known-group validity, convergent and divergent validity, and responsiveness were assessed in the total sample and by child age (5-12 years vs 13-18 years), report type (self- vs proxy report), and health status. Instruments were scored using an exploratory level sum score (LSS) approach.

RESULTS

Survey data were available for 5945 children, with follow-up data available for 2346 children. The EQ-5D-Y-3L demonstrated ceiling effects. The PedsQL, EQ-5D-Y-3L, EQ-5D-Y-5L, and CHU9D demonstrated acceptable test-retest reliability. All instruments demonstrated known-group, convergent, and divergent validity. The EQ-5D-Y-3L, EQ-5D-Y-5L, and CHU9D demonstrated responsiveness to improvements in health and the PedsQL, EQ-5D-Y-3L, EQ-5D-Y-5L, and CHU9D to worsening health. The AQoL-6D and HUI3 had inconclusive test-retest reliability and responsiveness evidence due to small sample size. Importantly, ceiling effects, test-retest reliability and responsiveness varied by subgroup.

CONCLUSION

Results reflect instrument performance using LSSs, which may differ to utility scores. In the total sample, the EQ-5D-Y-5L and CHU9D descriptive systems demonstrated evidence of good performance (i.e., meeting prespecified criteria) across all psychometric attributes tested. Performance varied by child age and report type, indicating room for considerations by population and study.

Health-related quality of life and subjective well-being among children aged 9-12 years in Shandong Province, China

PURPOSE

To investigate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and subjective well-being (SWB) of children aged 9-12 years in eastern China, and examine concordance within child self-reported and parent proxy-assessed.

METHODS

Data was collected from 9 to 12 years old children (including their parents) in Shandong Province in 2018. Participants self-completed a hard-copy questionnaire including Child Health Utility 9D (CHU9D), Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL)™ 4.0 Short Form 15 Generic Core Scales (hereafter the PedsQL™), Student's Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS), as well as information on socio-demographic characteristics and self-report health status. Spearman's correlation coefficients and the difference between sub-groups were conducted to assess and compare the agreement on HRQoL and SWB instruments. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to ascertain the number of unique underlying latent factors that were associated with the items covered by the two generic HRQoL and the SWB instruments. The concordance of child self-reported and parent proxy-assessed was analyzed using weighted kappa coefficient and Bland-Altman plots.

RESULTS

A total of 810 children and 810 parents were invited to participate in the survey. A valid sample of 799 (98.6%) children and 643 (79.4%) parents completed the questionnaire. The child self-reported mean scores were CHU9D = 0.87, PedsQL™ = 83.47, and SLSS = 30.90, respectively. The parent proxy-assessed mean scores were PedsQL™ = 68.61 and SLSS = 31.23, respectively. The child self-reported PedsQL™ was moderately correlated with the CHU9D (r = 0.52). There was a weak correlation between CHU9D and SLSS (r = 0.27). The EFA result found 3 factors whilst seven SLSS items grouped into a standalone factor (factor 3), and the nine dimensions of CHU9D shared two common factors with the PedsQL™ (factor 1 and factor 2). A low level of concordance was observed across all comparisons and in all domains (weighted kappa < 0.20) between parents and their children. Furthermore, a high level of discordance was observed between child self-reported and father proxy-assessed.

CONCLUSIONS

CHU9D and PedsQL™ instruments have a higher agreement in measuring the HRQoL in children. CHU9D/PedsQL™ and SLSS instruments showed a low agreement and EFA result suggested that measuring SWB in children potentially may provide further information, which might be overlooked by using HRQoL instruments exclusively. Concordance of child self-reported and parent proxy-assessed was poor. Overall, mother-child concordance was higher than father-child concordance.

A happiness approach to valuing health states for children

Preference weights are widely used to score generic health states into utility indexes for estimation of quality adjusted life years (QALYs) and to aid health care funding decisions. To date, health state utilities are predominantly derived using stated preference methods based on decision utility. This paper tests an alternative and generates preference weights using experienced utility for children based on the Child Health Utility 9D (CHU9D) descriptive system. We estimate the relative values of the CHU9D health states with regard to experienced utility, where experienced utility is approximated by self-reported happiness. A nationally-representative longitudinal survey was used including 6090 Australian children aged 12-17 years surveyed over 2014-2018. The derived weights were then applied to calculate the utility decrements for a few common child health conditions. We found that the estimated utility decrements are largely similar to those estimated using the published CHU9D Australian adolescent weights based on decision utility, except for pain and depression. A smaller utility decrement for pain and a larger utility decrement for depression were indicated by experienced utility. We contribute to the literature by showing that using experienced utility methods to generate preference weights for health states is possible, and we discuss some important methodological challenges for future studies such as the impracticability of anchoring to 'dead' when utilizing experienced utility.

Is well-becoming important for children and young people? Evidence from in-depth interviews with children and young people and their parents

PURPOSE

This study explores how important well-becoming factors appear to be to children during childhood. We define well-becoming as the indicators which predict children and young people's future wellbeing and opportunities. The priority for this work was to explore whether well-becoming might be an important factor to include in outcome measures for children and young people. The inclusion of well-becoming indicators could ensure that opportunities to invest in promoting wellbeing in children's futures are not missed.

METHODS

In-depth, qualitative interviews (N = 70) were undertaken with children and young people aged 6-15 years and their parents. Analysis used constant comparison and framework methods to investigate whether well-becoming factors were considered important by informants to children and young people's current wellbeing.

RESULTS

The findings of the interviews suggested that children and young people and their parents are concerned with future well-becoming now, as factors such as future achievement, financial security, health, independence, identity, and relationships were identified as key to future quality of life. Informants suggested that they considered it important during childhood to aspire towards positive outcomes in children and young people's futures.

CONCLUSION

The study findings, taken alongside relevant literature, have generated evidence to support the notion that future well-becoming is important to current wellbeing. We have drawn on our own work in capability wellbeing measure development to demonstrate how we have incorporated a well-becoming attribute into our measures. The inclusion of well-becoming indicators in measures could aid investment in interventions which more directly improve well-becoming outcomes for children and young people.

Evidence for investing in parenting interventions aiming to improve child health: a systematic review of economic evaluations

A comprehensive review of the economic evidence on parenting interventions targeting different aspects of child health is lacking to support decision-making. The aim of this review is to provide an up to date synthesis of the available health economic evidence for parenting interventions aiming to improve child health. A systematic review was conducted with articles identified through Econlit, Medline, PsychINFO, and ERIC databases. Only full economic evaluations comparing two or more options, considering both costs and outcomes were included. We assessed the quality of the studies using the Drummond checklist. We identified 44 studies of varying quality that met inclusion criteria; 22 targeting externalizing behaviors, five targeting internalizing problems, and five targeting other mental health problems including autism and alcohol abuse. The remaining studies targeted child abuse (n = 5), obesity (n = 3), and general health (n = 4). Studies varied considerably and many suffered from methodological limitations, such as limited costing perspectives, challenges with outcome measurement and short-time horizons. Parenting interventions showed good value for money in particular for preventing child externalizing and internalizing behaviors. For the prevention of child abuse, some programs had the potential of being cost-saving over the longer-term. Interventions were not cost-effective for the treatment of autism and obesity. Future research should include a broader spectrum of societal costs and quality-of-life impacts on both children and their caregivers.

Psychometric Comparison of EQ-5D-Y, CHU-9D, and PedsQL 4.0 in Chinese Children and Adolescents With Functional Dyspepsia: A Multicenter Study

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to assess and compare psychometric properties of the 3 health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instruments EQ-5D Youth version (EQ-5D-Y), Child Health Utility 9D (CHU-9D), and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 (PedsQL 4.0) in children and adolescents with functional dyspepsia (FD) in China.

METHODS

A consecutive sample of FD outpatients were recruited from 6 tertiary medical centers in Hangzhou. The patients self-completed the 3 instruments in random order. Their feasibility, acceptability, construct validity (convergent, divergent, and known-group validity), and sensitivity were assessed. Multiple linear regression was used for identifying HRQOL-associated factors.

RESULTS

A total of 1100 patients (mean age, 9.2 years; girl, 56.8%) completed the survey with no missing responses. Ceiling effect was quite higher in EQ-5D-Y (60.9%) than CHU-9D (33.8%) and PedsQL 4.0 (1.0%). The EQ-5D-Y and CHU-9D utility scores and PedsQL 4.0 total score were highly correlated (|r| = 0.593-0.661), except for the EuroQol visual analog scale score (EQ-VAS). The intraclass correlation coefficient between the 2 utility scores was fair (0.542). Most conceptually similar dimensions among the 3 instruments showed moderate to high correlations (|r| > 0.3) as hypothesized. The difference was statistically significant for the 2 utility scores and PedsQL 4.0 total score in varied severity groups (P < .001), and PedsQL 4.0 total score had higher relative efficiency and effect size values. The child's age, severity of FD symptoms, and their guardian's education had significant impact on HRQOL (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

EQ-5D-Y, CHU-9D, and PedsQL 4.0 demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties in Chinese children with FD. PedsQL 4.0 showed superior sensitivity and is recommended. EQ-5D-Y and CHU-9D utility scores were not interchangeable. The measurement properties of EQ-VAS need to be further explored.

Psychometric Performance of Generic Childhood Multi-Attribute Utility Instruments in Preterm and Low Birthweight Populations: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Individuals born preterm (gestational age < 37 weeks) and/or at low birthweight (<2500 g) are at increased risk of health impairments from birth to adulthood. This review aimed to evaluate the psychometric performance of generic childhood-specific or childhood-compatible multi-attribute utility instruments (MAUIs) in preterm and/or low birthweight (PLB) populations.

METHODS

Searches covered seven databases, including studies that targeted childhood (aged < 18 years) and/or adult (≥18 years) PLB populations; provided psychometric evidence for generic childhood-specific or compatible MAUI(s) (any language version); and published in English. Eighteen psychometric properties were evaluated using a four-part criteria rating system. Data syntheses identified psychometric evidence gaps and summarised the psychometric assessment methods/results.

RESULTS

A total of 42 studies were included, generating 178 criteria rating outputs across four MAUIs: 17D, CHSCS-PS, HUI2, and HUI3. Moreover, 64.0% of outputs concerned the HUI3 MAUI, and 38.2% related to known-group validity. There was no evidence for five psychometric properties. Only 6.7% of outputs concerned reliability and proxy-child agreement. No MAUI outperformed others across all properties. The frequently applied HUI2 and HUI3 lacked content validity evidence.

CONCLUSIONS

This psychometric evidence catalogue should inform the selection of MAUI(s) suited to the specific aims of applications targeting PLB populations. Further psychometric research is warranted to address the gaps in psychometric evidence.

Child-Parent Agreement in the Assessment of Health-Related Quality of Life Using the CHU9D and the PedsQLTM

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the inter-rater agreement between child-self and parental proxy health-related quality of life (HRQoL) ratings (overall and domain level) using two different generic child-specific measures, the Child Health Utility 9D (CHU9D) and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQLTM), in a community-based sample of Australian children. A secondary objective was to investigate the impact of age on child-parent agreement across the dimensions of the two measures.

METHODS

A total of 85 child-parent dyads (children aged 6-12 years) recruited from the community completed the self and proxy versions of the CHU9D and the PedsQLTM, respectively. The inter-rater agreement was estimated using Concordance Correlation Coefficients (CCC) and Gwet's Agreement Coefficient (AC1) for the overall sample and across age-groups.

RESULTS

Agreement was low for overall HRQoL for both the CHU9D (CCC = 0.28) and the PedsQLTM (CCC = 0.39). Across the CHU9D dimensions, agreement was the highest for 'sad' (AC1 = 0.83) and lowest for 'tired' (AC1 = 0.31). The PedsQLTM demonstrated stronger agreement (AC1 = 0.41-0.6) for the physical health dimension but weaker for the psychosocial dimensions (AC1 < 0.4). Except for the 'tired' dimension, agreement was consistent across age-groups with the CHU9D, whilst the PedsQLTM showed poor agreement for most of the psychosocial health items among the older age-groups only (8-10 and 11-12 years).

CONCLUSION

This study highlights that the agreement between child and parent proxy reported HRQoL may be influenced by both the measure used and the age of the child. These findings may have implications for the economic evaluation of healthcare interventions and services in child populations when both child and proxy perspectives are considered in the assessment of child HRQoL.

Developing an Australian utility value set for the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale-4D (ECOHIS-4D) using a discrete choice experiment

PURPOSE

Preference-based quality of life measures (PBMs) are used to generate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) in economic evaluations. A PBM consists of (1) a health state classification system and (2) a utility value set that allows the instrument responses to be converted to QALYs. A new, oral health-specific classification system, the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale-4D (ECOHIS-4D) has recently been developed. The aim of this study was to generate an Australian utility value set for the ECOHIS-4D.

METHODS

A discrete choice experiment with duration (DCETTO) was used as the preference elicitation technique. An online survey was administered to a representative sample of Australian adults over 18 years. Respondents were given 14 choice tasks (10 tasks from the DCE design of 50 choice sets blocked into five blocks, 2 practice tasks, a repeated and a dominant task). Data were analyzed using the conditional logit model.

RESULTS

A total of 1201 respondents from the Australian general population completed the survey. Of them, 69% (n = 829) perceived their oral health status to be good, very good, or excellent. The estimated coefficients from the conditional logit models were in the expected directions and were statistically significant (p < 0.001). The utility values for health states defined by the ECOHIS-4D ranged from 0.0376 to 1.0000.

CONCLUSIONS

This newly developed utility value set will enable the calculation of utility values for economic evaluations of interventions related to oral diseases such as dental caries among young children. This will facilitate more effective resource allocation for oral health services.

An investigation of age dependency in Dutch and Chinese values for EQ-5D-Y

AIMS

The primary aim was to explore the age dependency of health state values derived via trade-offs between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and life years in a discrete choice experiment (DCE). The secondary aim was to explore if people weigh life years and HRQoL differently for children, adolescents, adults, and older adults.

METHODS

Participants from the general population of the Netherlands and China first completed a series of choice tasks offering choices between two EQ-5D-Y states with a given lifespan. The choice model captured the value of a year in full health, disutility determined by EQ-5D-Y, and a discount rate. Next, they received a slightly different choice task, offering choices between two lives that differed in HRQoL and life expectancy but produced the same number of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Participants were randomly assigned to fill out the survey for three or four age frames: a hypothetical person of 10, 15, 40, and 70 years (the last one only applicable to China) to allow the age dependency of the responses to be explored.

RESULTS

A total of 1,234 Dutch and 1,818 Chinese people administered the survey. Controlling for time preferences, we found that the agreement of health state values for different age frames was generally stronger in the Netherlands than in China. We found no clear pattern of differences in the QALY composition in both samples. The probability distribution over response options varied most when levels for lifespan or severity were at the extremes of the spectrum.

CONCLUSION/DISCUSSION

The magnitude and direction of age effects on values seemed dimension- and country specific. In the Netherlands, we found a few differences in dimension-specific weights elicited for 10- and 15-year-olds compared to 40-year-olds, but the overall age dependency of values was limited. A stronger age dependency of values was observed in China, where values for 70-year-olds differed strongly from the values for other ages. The appropriateness of using existing values beyond the age range for which they were measured needs to be evaluated in the local context.

A Qualitative Investigation to Develop an Adapted Version of the EQ-5D-Y-3L for Use in Children Aged 2-4 Years

OBJECTIVES

Few preference-weighted health-related quality-of-life measures exist for children under 5 years of age. Young children are substantial consumers of healthcare services. This project aims to assess EQ-5D-Y-3L's appropriateness in children aged 2 to 4 years and to coproduce with parents a suitable adaptation.

METHODS

Purposive sampling at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and Royal Children's Hospital was used to recruit parents or carers of children aged 2 to 4 years in Australia. Online focus groups were conducted consisting of 13 parents of healthy children, and 6 parents of children with moderate to severe health conditions. Parents provided feedback on each dimension of the proxy EQ-5D-Y-3L. Recordings were transcribed and thematic analysis was conducted. Qualitative findings guided the design of adaptations to the instrument. The adaptations were piloted to obtain feedback and refined to improve language translatability and comparability with other EuroQol instruments.

RESULTS

The adapted EQ-5D-Y-3L was considered generally acceptable by the parents. Parents provided a wide range of examples of how each domain related to their children, with varied examples provided across ages 2 to 4 years and health status. Additional or alternative wording was suggested by parents to improve the applicability of the instrument to this age group. One example of this was the change of the domain wording "walking about" to "movement"-ID5:"In this age group, movement is more important than walking."

CONCLUSIONS

The adapted EQ-5D-Y-3L has improved relevance for 2-4-year olds and appears easy to complete. Further testing of the adapted instrument is required to evaluate acceptability, reliability, and validity.

Valuing the Dental Caries Utility Index in Australia

INTRODUCTION

The Dental Caries Utility Index (DCUI) is a new oral health-specific health state classification system for adolescents, consisting of 5 domains: pain/discomfort, difficulty eating food/drinking, worried, ability to participate in activities, and appearance. Each domain has 4 response levels. This study aims to generate an Australian-specific utility algorithm for the DCUI.

METHODS

An online survey was conducted using a representative sample of the adult Australian general population. The discrete choice experiment (DCE) was used to elicit the preferences on 5 domains. Then, the latent utilities were anchored onto the full health-dead scale using the visual analogue scale (VAS). DCE data were modeled using conditional logit, and 2 anchoring procedures were considered: anchor based on the worst health state and a mapping approach. The optimal anchoring procedure was selected based on the model parsimony and the mean absolute error (MAE).

RESULTS

A total of 995 adults from the Australian general population completed the survey. The conditional logit estimates on 5 dimensions and levels were monotonic and statistically significant, except for the second level of the "worried" and "appearance" domains. The mapping approach was selected based on a smaller MAE between the 2 anchoring procedures. The Australian-specific tariff of DCUI ranges from 0.1681 to 1.

CONCLUSION

This study developed a utility algorithm for the DCUI. This value set will facilitate utility value calculations from the participants' responses for DCUI in economic evaluations of dental caries interventions targeted for adolescents.

HIGHLIGHTS

Preference-based quality-of-life measures (PBMs), which consist of a health state classification system and a set of utility values (a scoring algorithm), are used to generate utility weights for economic evaluations.This study is the first to develop an Australian utility value set for the Dental Caries Utility Index (DCUI), a new oral health-specific classification system for adolescents.The availability of a utility value set will enable using DCUI in economic evaluations of oral health interventions targeted for adolescents and may ultimately lead to more effective and efficient planning of oral health care services.

Collecting Paediatric Health-Related Quality of Life Data: Assessing the Feasibility and Acceptability of the Australian Paediatric Multi-Instrument Comparison (P-MIC) Study

BACKGROUND

Collecting data using paediatric health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instruments is complex, and there is a paucity of evidence regarding the comparative performance of paediatric HRQoL instruments. The Australian Paediatric Multi-Instrument Comparison (P-MIC) study was conducted to address this paucity of evidence. This study aims to understand the (1) feasibility of collecting data using paediatric HRQoL instruments in a research setting and (2) acceptability and feasibility for children and their caregivers to complete common paediatric HRQoL instruments using data from the Australian P-MIC study.

METHODS

Data were from children aged 5-18 years from the Australian P-MIC study. Demographics, cost and time for data collection, dropout rates, and inconsistent responses were used to assess Aim 1. Participant-reported difficulty and completion time were used to assess Aim 2. Subgroup analyses included child age, report type (self/proxy), sample recruitment pathway (hospital/online), and online panel sample type (general population/condition groups).

RESULTS

Overall, 5945 P-MIC participants aged 5-18 years completed an initial survey, of these, 2346 also completed the follow-up survey (39.5% response rate). Compared with online panel recruitment, hospital recruitment was more costly and time-consuming and had higher follow-up completion (33.5% versus 80.4%) (Aim 1). Data were of similar good quality (based on inconsistent responses) for both recruitment pathways (Aim 1). Participants completed each instrument in <3 min, on average, and >70% reported each instrument as easy to complete (Aim 2).

CONCLUSIONS

The Australian P-MIC study was able to collect good-quality data using both online panel and hospital recruitment pathways. All instruments were acceptable and feasible to children and their caregivers.

Cost-effectiveness of replacing versus discarding the nail in children with nail bed injury

Every year in the UK, around 10 000 children need to have operations to mend injuries to the bed of their fingernails. Currently, most children have their fingernail placed back on the injured nail bed after the operation. The NINJA trial found that children were slightly less likely to have an infection if the nail was thrown away rather than being put back, but the difference between groups was small and could have be due to chance. This study looked at whether replacing the nail is cost-effective compared with throwing it away. Using data from the NINJA trial, we compared costs, healthcare use, and quality of life and assessed the cost-effectiveness of replacing the nail. It was found that throwing the nail away after surgery would save the National Health Service (NHS) £75 (€85) per operation compared with placing the nail back on the nail bed. Changing clinical practice could save the NHS in England £720 000 (€819 000) per year.

Mapping the Peds QLTM 4.0 onto CHU-9D: a cross-sectional study in functional dyspepsia population from China

Objective

The study aims to develop a mapping algorithm from the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4. 0 (Peds QL 4.0) onto Child Health Utility 9D (CHU-9D) based on the cross-sectional data of functional dyspepsia (FD) children and adolescents in China.

Methods

A sample of 2,152 patients with FD completed both the CHU-9D and Peds QL 4.0 instruments. A total of six regression models were used to develop the mapping algorithm, including ordinary least squares regression (OLS), the generalized linear regression model (GLM), MM-estimator model (MM), Tobit regression (Tobit) and Beta regression (Beta) for direct mapping, and multinomial logistic regression (MLOGIT) for response mapping. Peds QL 4.0 total score, Peds QL 4.0 dimension scores, Peds QL 4.0 item scores, gender, and age were used as independent variables according to the Spearman correlation coefficient. The ranking of indicators, including the mean absolute error (MAE), root mean squared error (RMSE), adjusted R², and consistent correlation coefficient (CCC), was used to assess the predictive ability of the models.

Results

The Tobit model with selected Peds QL 4.0 item scores, gender and age as the independent variable predicted the most accurate. The best-performing models for other possible combinations of variables were also shown.

Conclusion

The mapping algorithm helps to transform Peds QL 4.0 data into health utility value. It is valuable for conducting health technology evaluations within clinical studies that have only collected Peds QL 4.0 data.

Systematic Review of the Psychometric Performance of Generic Childhood Multi-attribute Utility Instruments

BACKGROUND

Childhood multi-attribute utility instruments (MAUIs) can be used to measure health utilities in children (aged ≤ 18 years) for economic evaluation. Systematic review methods can generate a psychometric evidence base that informs their selection for application. Previous reviews focused on limited sets of MAUIs and psychometric properties, and only on evidence from studies that directly aimed to conduct psychometric assessments.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to conduct a systematic review of psychometric evidence for generic childhood MAUIs and to meet three objectives: (1) create a comprehensive catalogue of evaluated psychometric evidence; (2) identify psychometric evidence gaps; and (3) summarise the psychometric assessment methods and performance by property.

METHODS

A review protocol was registered with the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; CRD42021295959); reporting followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guideline. The searches covered seven academic databases, and included studies that provided psychometric evidence for one or more of the following generic childhood MAUIs designed to be accompanied by a preference-based value set (any language version): 16D, 17D, AHUM, AQoL-6D, CH-6D, CHSCS-PS, CHU9D, EQ-5D-Y-3L, EQ-5D-Y-5L, HUI2, HUI3, IQI, QWB, and TANDI; used data derived from general and/or clinical childhood populations and from children and/or proxy respondents; and were published in English. The review included 'direct studies' that aimed to assess psychometric properties and 'indirect studies' that generated psychometric evidence without this explicit aim. Eighteen properties were evaluated using a four-part criteria rating developed from established standards in the literature. Data syntheses identified psychometric evidence gaps and summarised the psychometric assessment methods/results by property.

RESULTS

Overall, 372 studies were included, generating a catalogue of 2153 criteria rating outputs across 14 instruments covering all properties except predictive validity. The number of outputs varied markedly by instrument and property, ranging from 1 for IQI to 623 for HUI3, and from zero for predictive validity to 500 for known-group validity. The more recently developed instruments targeting preschool children (CHSCS-PS, IQI, TANDI) have greater evidence gaps (lack of any evidence) than longer established instruments such as EQ-5D-Y, HUI2/3, and CHU9D. The gaps were prominent for reliability (test-retest, inter-proxy-rater, inter-modal, internal consistency) and proxy-child agreement. The inclusion of indirect studies (n = 209 studies; n = 900 outputs) increased the number of properties with at least one output of acceptable performance. Common methodological issues in psychometric assessment were identified, e.g., lack of reference measures to help interpret associations and changes. No instrument consistently outperformed others across all properties.

CONCLUSION

This review provides comprehensive evidence on the psychometric performance of generic childhood MAUIs. It assists analysts involved in cost-effectiveness-based evaluation to select instruments based on the application-specific minimum standards of scientific rigour. The identified evidence gaps and methodological issues also motivate and inform future psychometric studies and their methods, particularly those assessing reliability, proxy-child agreement, and MAUIs targeting preschool children.

Assessing Outcomes for Cost-Utility Analysis in Children and Adolescents With Mental Health Problems: Are Multiattribute Utility Instruments Fit for Purpose?

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to compare the concurrent and construct validity, as well as the sensitivity of 5 multiattribute utility instruments (MAUIs), including the Assessment of Quality of Life-6D (AQoL-6D), EQ-5D-Y, Health Utilities Index (HUI)-2 and HUI-3, and the Child Health Utility 9D, 1 generic pediatric quality of life instrument, with 3 routinely collected outcome measures in Australian mental health services (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Clinical Global Assessment Scale [CGAS] and the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale for Children and Adolescents) in children and adolescents diagnosed of internalizing (eg, anxiety/depression), externalizing (eg, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder/conduct disorders), and trauma/stress related mental disorders.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey of measures, including demographic and basic treatment information, in children/adolescents recruited via 5 child and youth mental health services in Queensland and Victoria, Australia. Measures were either proxy or self-report completed, the CGAS and the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale for Children and Adolescents were clinician completed.

RESULTS

The sample included 426 participants and had a mean age of 13.7 years (range 7-18 years). Utilities (as calculated from MAUIs) were generally lower in older adolescents and those with internalizing disorders. All MAUIs and self-reported clinical measures significantly correlated with each other (absolute correlation range 0.40-0.90), with the AQoL-6D showing generally higher levels of correlations. Correlations between the MAUIs and clinician/proxy-reported measures were weak, regardless of diagnosis (absolute correlation range 0.09-0.47). Generally, EQ-5D-Y, HUI-2, and AQoL-6D were more sensitive than Child Health Utility 9D and HUI-3 when distinguishing between different severities according to clinician-assessed CGAS (effect size range 0.17-0.84).

CONCLUSIONS

The study showed that the commonly used MAUIs had good concurrent and construct validity compared with routinely used self-complete measures but poor validity when compared with clinician/proxy-completed measures. These findings generally held across different diagnoses.

A comparison of the Child Health Utility 9D and the Health Utilities Index for estimating health utilities in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease

PURPOSE

Health utilities are challenging to ascertain in children and have not been studied in pediatric Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). The objective was to assess discriminative validity by comparing utilities elicited using the Child Health Utility-9 Dimension (CHU9D) to the Health Utilities Index (HUI) across multiple disease activity scales in pediatric UC and CD.

METHODS

Preference-based instruments were administered to 188 children with CD and 83 children with UC aged 6 to 18 years. Utilities were calculated using CHU9D adult and youth tariffs, and HUI2 and HUI3 algorithms in children with inactive (quiescent) and active (mild, moderate, and severe) disease. Differences between instruments, tariff sets and disease activity categories and were tested statistically.

RESULTS

In CD and UC, all instruments detected significantly higher utilities for inactive compared to active disease (p < 0.05). Mean utilities for quiescent disease ranged from 0.810 (SD 0.169) to 0.916 (SD 0.121) in CD and from 0.766 (SD 0.208) to 0.871 (SD 0.186) in UC across instruments. Active disease mean utilities ranged from 0.694 (SD 0.212) to 0.837 (SD 0.168) in CD and from 0.654 (SD 0.226) to 0.800 (SD 0.128) in UC.

CONCLUSION

CHU9D and HUI discriminated between levels of disease activity in CD and UC regardless of the clinical scale used, with the CHU9D youth tariff most often displaying the lowest utilities for worse health states. Distinct utilities for different IBD disease activity states can be used in health state transition models evaluating the cost-effectiveness of treatments for pediatric CD and UC.

Psychometric performance of the Chichewa versions of the EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L among healthy and sick children and adolescents in Malawi

OBJECTIVES

The EuroQol Group has developed an extended version of the EQ-5D-Y-3L with five response levels for each of its five dimensions (EQ-5D-Y-5L). The psychometric performance has been reported in several studies for the EQ-5D-Y-3L but not for the EQ-5D-Y-5L. This study aimed to psychometrically evaluate the EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L Chichewa (Malawi) versions.

METHODS

The EQ-5D-Y-3L, EQ-5D-Y-5L and PedsQL™ 4.0 Chichewa versions were administered to children and adolescents aged 8-17 years in Blantyre, Malawi. Both of the EQ-5D-Y versions were evaluated for missing data, floor/ceiling effects, and validity (convergent, discriminant, known-group and empirical).

RESULTS

A total of 289 participants (95 healthy, and 194 chronic and acute) self-completed the questionnaires. There was little problem with missing data (< 5%) except in children aged 8-12 years particularly for the EQ-5D-Y-5L. Ceiling effects was generally reduced in moving from the EQ-5D-Y-3L to the EQ-5D-Y-5L. For both EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L, convergent validity tested with PedsQL™ 4.0 was found to be satisfactory (correlation ≥ 0.4) at scale level but mixed at dimension /sub-scale level. There was evidence of discriminant validity (p > 0.05) with respect to gender and age, but not for school grade (p < 0.05). For empirical validity, the EQ-5D-Y-5L was 31-91% less efficient than the EQ-5D-Y-3L at detecting differences in health status using external measures.

CONCLUSIONS

Both versions of the EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L had issues with missing data in younger children. Convergent validity, discriminant validity with respect to gender and age, and known-group validity of either measures were also met for use among children and adolescents in this population, although with some limitations (discriminant validity by grade and empirical validity). The EQ-5D-Y-3L seems particularly suited for use in younger children (8-12 years) and the EQ-5D-Y-5L in adolescents (13-17 years). However, further psychometric testing is required for test re-test reliability and responsiveness that could not be carried out in this study due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The Cost-Effectiveness of a Dance and Yoga Intervention for Girls with Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders

BACKGROUND

Functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs) affect children worldwide, being more prevalent among girls. The individual and societal burdens of the disease are substantial, and evidence-based interventions are needed. Non-pharmacological treatments have generally produced promising results, with dance and yoga specifically having potential as an effective treatment option. Beside efficacy, the cost-effectiveness of interventions is important when prioritizing and allocating public resources.

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of an 8-month dance and yoga intervention for girls with functional abdominal pain or irritable bowel syndrome, based on a randomized control trial called 'Just in TIME'.

METHODS

The intervention, performed in Sweden, was studied using a decision analysis tool, i.e., a decision tree within the trial followed by a Markov model with a time horizon of 10 years. The base case considered healthcare costs as well as productivity losses, measuring the effects in gained quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and presenting an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER).

RESULTS

The base case results show that the intervention, compared with current practice, was the dominant strategy from both the 12-month and long-term perspectives. The sensitivity analyses indicated that the long-term, but not the short-term, findings were robust for different assumptions and changes in parameter estimates, resulting in ICERs similar to those of the base case scenario.

CONCLUSIONS

Offering dance and yoga to young girls with FAPDs generates small QALY gains and monetary savings compared with standard healthcare and is likely cost-effective. These findings make a valuable contribution to an area where evidence-based and cost-effective treatment interventions are needed.

CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION NUMBER

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02920268; Name: Just in TIME-Intervention With Dance and Yoga for Girls With Recurrent Abdominal Pain.

Patient-reported outcome measures used to improve youth mental health services: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are standardized and validated self-administered questionnaires that assess whether healthcare interventions and practices improve patients' health and quality of life. PROMs are commonly implemented in children and youth mental health services, as they increasingly emphasize patient-centered care. The objective of this study was to identify and describe the PROMs that are currently in use with children and youth living with mental health conditions (MHCs).

METHODS

Three databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO) were systematically searched that used PROMs with children and youth < 18 years of age living with at least one diagnosed MHC. All methods were noted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis. Four independent reviewers extracted data, which included study characteristics (country, year), setting, the type of MHC under investigation, how the PROMs were used, type of respondent, number of items, domain descriptors, and the psychometric properties.

RESULTS

Of the 5004 articles returned by the electronic search, 34 full-texts were included in this review. This review identified both generic and disease-specific PROMs, and of the 28 measures identified, 13 were generic, two were generic preference-based, and 13 were disease-specific.

CONCLUSION

This review shows there is a diverse array of PROMs used in children and youth living with MHCs. Integrating PROMs into the routine clinical care of youth living with MHCs could improve the mental health of youth. Further research on how relevant these PROMs are children and youth with mental health conditions will help establish more uniformity in the use of PROMs for this population.

Health utility of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in China

Background

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common cancer in children. As the 5-year survival rate has been improved to over 80%, more emphasis is now placed on reducing therapy toxicities and enhancing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients during treatment. Our objective was to measure health utility of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pALL) patients in China, examine utility weights of different treatment phases and influencing factors of health utility, as well as identify which aspects of HRQoL were most impaired.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in Shanghai Children's Medical Center (SCMC) Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China from April to November 2021. Primary caregivers of 247 patients completed the assessment by CHU9D-CHN and health utility scores were computed for all the patients and stratified by treatment phases. Various multivariable models were constructed and the best was chosen to identify independent factors associated with utility scores. Factors affecting the most impaired dimensions were also examined.

Results

The overall mean (SD) health utility score was 0.79 (±0.17) and significantly increased from induction (0.73 [±0.19], P < 0.001) to consolidation (0.74 [±0.18]), and to maintenance (0.82 [±0.16]). After adjusting for potentially influencing factors, utility scores in induction (Beta = -0.086, P = 0.005) and consolidation (Beta = -0.074, P = 0.043) were constantly lower than those during maintenance. In item-level analysis, lower age and induction phase were found to be significantly associated with high severity reported on the "school work/homework" dimension. Additionally, only the induction phase (vs. maintenance, OR = 2.24, P = 0.016) was independently associated with the high severity level reported on the "able to join in activities" dimension.

Conclusions

This is the first study that measured health utility of children with pALL in China. Mean health utility scores increased from induction to maintenance. These provided important utility estimates that help inform future health economic models. The phrasing of "School work/homework" in CHU9D-CHN could be further improved. More efforts are needed to design and implement specific interventions targeting at the dimension "able to join in activities" for enhancing HRQoL of children with pALL in China.

In a Child's Shoes: Composite Time Trade-Off Valuations for EQ-5D-Y-3L with Different Proxy Perspectives

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

EQ-5D-Y-3L health states are commonly valued by asking adults to complete stated preference tasks, 'given their views about a 10-year-old child' (hereafter referred to as proxy 1). The use of this perspective has been a source of debate. In this paper, we investigated an alternative proxy perspective: i.e. adults considered what they think a 10-year old-child would decide for itself (hereafter, proxy 2 (substitute)]. Our main objective was to explore how the outcomes, dispersion and response patterns of a composite time trade-off valuation differ between proxy 1 and proxy 2.

METHODS

A team of four trained interviewers completed 402 composite time trade-off interviews following the EQ-5D-Y-3L protocol. Respondents were randomly allocated to value health states in either the proxy 1 or proxy 2 (substitute) perspective. Each respondent valued ten health states with the perspective they were assigned to, as well as one health state with the alternative perspective (33333).

RESULTS

The use of different proxy perspectives yielded differences in EQ-5D-Y-3L valuation. For states in which children had considerable pain and were very worried, sad or unhappy, respondents' valuations were lower in proxy 1 than in proxy 2 (substitute) perspectives, by about 0.2. Within-subject variation across health states was lower for proxy 2 (substitute) than proxy 1 perspectives. Analyses of response patterns suggest that data for proxy 2 (substitute) perspectives were less clustered.

CONCLUSIONS

There are systematic differences between composite time trade-off responses given by adults deciding for children and adults considering what children would want for themselves. In addition to warranting further qualitative exploration, such differences contribute to the ongoing normative discussion surrounding the source and perspective used for valuation of child and adolescent health.

EQ-5D-Y Value Set for Germany

BACKGROUND

Demand is increasing for youth-specific preference-based health-related quality-of-life measures for inclusion in evaluations of healthcare interventions for children and adolescents. The EQ-5D-Youth (EQ-5D-Y) has the potential to become such a preference-based measure.

OBJECTIVE

This study applied the recently published EQ-5D-Y valuation protocol to develop a German EQ-5D-Y value set and explored the differences between values given to youth health by parents and non-parents.

METHODS

To elicit EQ-5D-Y health state preferences, a representative sample of 1030 adults of the general population completed a discrete choice experiment (DCE) online survey, and 215 adults participated in face-to-face interviews applying composite time trade-off (cTTO). Respondents were asked to consider a 10-year-old child living in the health states. DCE data were modelled using a mixed logit model. To derive the value set, DCE latent scale values were anchored onto adjusted mean cTTO values using a linear mapping approach.

RESULTS

Adult respondents considered pain/discomfort and feeling worried/sad/unhappy as the two most important dimensions in terms of youth health. Adjusted mean cTTO values ranged from - 0.350 for health state 33333 to 0.970 for health state 21111. The EQ-5D-Y value set showed a logical order for all parameter estimates, and predicted values ranged from - 0.283 to 1. Differences in preferences by parental status were mainly observed for cTTO results, where mean values were larger for parents than for non-parents.

CONCLUSIONS

Applying the valuation protocol, a German EQ-5D-Y value set with internally consistent coefficients was developed. This enables the instrument to be used in economic evaluations of paediatric healthcare interventions.

Are We Agreed? Self- Versus Proxy-Reporting of Paediatric Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) Using Generic Preference-Based Measures: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine the level of agreement between self- and proxy-reporting of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children (under 18 years of age) using generic preference-based measures.

METHODS

A systematic review of primary studies that reported agreement statistics for self and proxy assessments of overall and/or dimension-level paediatric HRQoL using generic preference-based measures was conducted. Where available, data on intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were extracted to summarise overall agreement levels, and Cohen's kappa was used to describe agreement across domains. A meta-analysis was also performed to synthesise studies and estimate the level of agreement between self- and proxy-reported paediatric overall and domain-level HRQoL.

RESULTS

Of the 30 studies included, 25 reported inter-rater agreement for overall utilities, while 17 reported domain-specific agreement. Seven generic preference-based measures were identified as having been applied: Health Utilities Index (HUI) Mark 2 and 3, EQ-5D measures, Child Health Utility 9 Dimensions (CHU9D), and the Quality of Well-Being (QWB) scale. A total of 45 dyad samples were included, with a total pooled sample of 3084 children and 3300 proxies. Most of the identified studies reported a poor inter-rater agreement for the overall HRQoL using ICCs. In contrast to more observable HRQoL domains relating to physical health and functioning, the inter-rater agreement was low for psychosocial-related domains, e.g., 'emotion' and 'cognition' attributes of both HUI2 and HUI3, and 'feeling worried, sad, or unhappy' and 'having pain or discomfort' domains of the EQ-5D. Parents demonstrated a higher level of agreement with children relative to health professionals. Child self- and proxy-reports of HRQoL showed lower agreement in cancer-related studies than in non-cancer-related studies. The overall ICC from the meta-analysis was estimated to be 0.49 (95% confidence interval 0.34-0.61) with poor inter-rater agreement.

CONCLUSION

This study provides evidence from a systematic review of studies reporting dyad assessments to demonstrate the discrepancies in inter-rater agreement between child and proxy reporting of overall and domain-level paediatric HRQoL using generic preference-based measures. Further research to drive the inclusion of children in self-reporting their own HRQoL wherever possible and limiting the reliance on proxy reporting of children's HRQoL is warranted.

Measurement Properties of the EQ-5D-Y: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to perform a systematic review of published evidence on the psychometric properties of 3-level version of EQ-5D-Y and 5-level version of EQ-5D-Y (EQ-5D-Y-5L).

METHODS

A literature search on the MEDLINE, Embase, and EuroQol website (until June 2021) was conducted. Original studies on EQ-5D-Y psychometric properties such as feasibility, distribution properties (ceiling and floor effects), reliability (test-retest, interrater, intermodal), validity (known-groups, convergent), and responsiveness, published as full-text articles in English, were included. Studies on experimental EQ-5D-Y versions were excluded. The following data were pooled using random effects models: missing values, the ceiling effect, and correlations coefficients with other measures.

RESULTS

A total of 47 studies (inclusive of 7 on EQ-5D-Y-5L) containing data from 45 310 children and 2690 proxy respondents representing 15 countries were included. These studies were characterized as being high quality according to the quality index. The most represented areas were school populations and musculoskeletal diseases and orthopedics. The EQ-5D-Y dimensions, EQ visual analog scale, and EQ index were reported in 89%, 77%, and 26% of studies, respectively. Most articles addressed validity (known-groups, n = 27; convergent, n = 21) and reliability (test-retest and interrater, n = 10 each). Convergent validity studies showed that, where the assessment of the child's functioning at school is required, EQ-5D-Y should be supplemented with other school-specific measures.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review provides a summary of measurement properties and the psychometric performance of 3-level version of EQ-5D-Y and EQ-5D-Y-5L. The existing evidence supports using the EQ-5D-Y descriptive system and EQ visual analog scale in children and adolescent populations. Further research on test-retest reliability and the responsiveness of the EQ-5D-Y index obtained with child-specific value sets is needed.

The Cost of Neurodevelopmental Disability: Scoping Review of Economic Evaluation Methods

The provision of effective care models for children with neurodevelopmental delay or disability can be challenging in resource constrained healthcare systems. Economic evaluations have an important role in informing resource allocation decisions. This review systematically examined the scope and methods of economic models evaluating interventions for supporting neurodevelopment among children with common neurodevelopmental disorders and identified methods of economic models and presented policy implications. This scoping review employed the Arksey and O'Malley framework and aligned with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Four electronic databases were systematically searched to identify eligible model-based economic evaluations of neurodevelopmental care models published since 2000. The Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) checklist was used to assess quality of reporting. Data were systematically extracted, tabulated, and qualitatively synthesised across diagnostic categories. Searches identified 1431 unique articles. Twelve studies used a decision analytic model to evaluate care for neurodevelopmental disorders and were included in the review. Included studies focused on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, n=6), autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n=3), cerebral palsy (n=2), and dyslexia (n=1). The most used decision analytic modelling approach was a Markov model (n=6), followed by a decision tree (n=3), and a combination of decision tree and Markov model (n=3). Most studies (n=7) adopted a societal perspective for reporting costs. None of the reviewed studies modelled impact on families and caregivers. Four studies reported cost-savings, three identified greater quality of life, and three identified cost increases.

A Systematic Review of International Guidance for Self-Report and Proxy Completion of Child-Specific Utility Instruments

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to identify and summarize published guidance and recommendations for child self- and proxy assessment of existing child-specific instruments of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) that are accompanied by utilities.

METHODS

A total of 9 databases plus websites of (1) health technology assessment and health economics outcomes research organizations and (2) instrument developers were systematically searched. Studies were included if they reported guidance for child self- and proxy assessment for child populations (0-18 years old). Three reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full-text reviews against the inclusion criteria. Key features of the guidance identified were summarized.

RESULTS

A total of 19 studies met the inclusion criteria. In general, journal articles provided little guidance on child self- and proxy assessment, with the majority focused on instrument development and psychometric performance more broadly. Instrument developers' websites provided more guidance for child self- and proxy reports with specific guidance found for the EQ-5D-Y and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. This guidance included the minimum age for self-report and mode of administration; recommended proxy types, age range of child for whom proxy report can be completed, and target population; and recall period. Websites of leading organizations provided general guidance on HRQoL evaluation in children but lacked specific guidance about self- and proxy completion.

CONCLUSIONS

EQ-5D-Y and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory developers' websites provided the most comprehensive guidance for self-report and proxy report of their respective instruments. More evidence is required for developing best practice guidance on why, when, and how to use self- and proxy reports in assessing HRQoL in child populations.

Exploring the Issues of Valuing Child and Adolescent Health States Using a Mixed Sample of Adolescents and Adults

Preferences for child and adolescent health states used to generate health state utility values can be elicited from adults, young adults, adolescents, or combinations of these. This commentary paper provides a critical overview of issues and implications arising from valuing child and adolescent health states using a novel approach of a mixed sample of adolescents and adults. The commentary is informed by critical analysis of normative, ethical, practical and theoretical arguments in the health state valuation literature. Discussion focusses upon adolescent empowerment, understanding and psychosocial maturity; ethical concerns; elicitation tasks; perspective; and selection of sample proportions across adolescents and adults. It is argued that valuation of child and adolescent health states by both adolescents and adults could involve all participants completing the same preference elicitation task using the same perspective (e.g. time trade-off imagining they are living in the health state), and all preferences being modelled to generate a combined value set that reflects both adolescent and adult preferences. It is concluded that the valuation of child and adolescent health states by a mixed adolescent and adult sample appears feasible and has the advantage that it includes some of the population who can potentially experience the health states, thus enabling adolescents to express their views around matters that may affect them, and the population that are taxpayers and voters. However, both the relative proportion of adults and adolescents to include in a valuation sample and the elicitation technique require careful consideration.

Systematic Review of Conceptual, Age, Measurement and Valuation Considerations for Generic Multidimensional Childhood Patient-Reported Outcome Measures

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for children (aged ≤ 18 years) present methodological challenges. PROMs can be categorised by their diverse underlying conceptual bases, including functional, disability and health (FDH) status; quality of life (QoL); and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Some PROMs are designed to be accompanied by preference weights. PROMs should account for childhood developmental differences by incorporating age-appropriate health/QoL domains, guidance on respondent type(s) and design. This systematic review aims to identify generic multidimensional childhood PROMs and synthesise their characteristics by conceptual basis, target age, measurement considerations, and the preference-based value sets that accompany them.

METHODS

The study protocol was registered in the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42021230833), and reporting followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We conducted systematic database searches for generic multidimensional childhood PROMs covering the period 2012-2020, which we combined with published PROMs identified by an earlier systematic review that covered the period 1992-2011. A second systematic database search identified preference-based value sets for generic multidimensional PROMs. The PROMs were categorised by conceptual basis (FDH status, QoL and HRQoL) and by target age (namely infants and pre-schoolers aged < 5 years, pre-adolescents aged 5-11, adolescents aged 12-18 and multi-age group coverage). Descriptive statistics assessed how PROM characteristics (domain coverage, respondent type and design) varied by conceptual basis and age categories. Involvement of children in PROM development and testing was assessed to understand content validity. Characteristics of value sets available for the childhood generic multidimensional PROMs were identified and compared.

RESULTS

We identified 89 PROMs, including 110 versions: 52 FDH, 29 QoL, 12 HRQoL, nine QoL-FDH and eight HRQoL-FDH measures; 20 targeted infants and pre-schoolers, 29 pre-adolescents, 24 adolescents and 37 for multiple age groups. Domain coverage demonstrated development trajectories from observable FDH aspects in infancy through to personal independence and relationships during adolescence. PROMs targeting younger children relied more on informant report, were shorter and had fewer ordinal scale points. One-third of PROMs were developed following qualitative research or surveys with children or parents for concept elicitation. There were 21 preference-based value sets developed by 19 studies of ten generic multidimensional childhood PROMs: seven were based on adolescents' stated preferences, seven were from adults from the perspective of or on behalf of the child, and seven were from adults adopting an adult's perspective. Diverse preference elicitation methods were used to elicit values. Practices with respect to anchoring values on the utility scale also varied considerably. The range and distribution of values reflect these differences, resulting in value sets with notably different properties.

CONCLUSION

Identification and categorisation of generic multidimensional childhood PROMs and value sets by this review can aid the development, selection and interpretation of appropriate measures for clinical and population research and cost-effectiveness-based decision-making.

The Children and Young People Quality of Life Study: A protocol for the qualitative development of attributes for capability wellbeing measures for use in health economic evaluation with children and young people

Background: Health services face difficult choices regarding how to allocate scarce health and social care resources. Economic evaluation can aid this process of decision making by allowing competing healthcare interventions or services to be compared in terms of their costs and consequences. However, existing use of economic evaluation of health services largely focuses on comparing interventions in terms of their impact on health only, missing factors potentially important to broader wellbeing. The capability approach measures outcomes in terms of what people are able to do and be. It provides an alternative evaluative space for economic evaluation, which may be especially beneficial for populations such as children and young people, for whom health might not be the only outcome of importance to their wellbeing. Study aims: This study aims to develop conceptual attributes and descriptive systems for capability wellbeing measures for children and young people to be used in economic evaluation, using qualitative methods with children and young people directly and their parents/guardians. Methods: Qualitative interviews will be used with children and young people and parents/guardians to develop the conceptual attributes (items) and wording for the capability wellbeing measures. Recruitment will be undertaken through organisations such as schools and charities and online using Facebook. Interviews will be face-to-face or online and will focus on identifying factors important to children and young people’s wellbeing to create an initial draft of the capability wellbeing measures. Subsequent interviews will focus on refining the wording used in the measures. Interviews will be analysed using methods of constant comparison, to explore similarities and differences in what participants considered important to children and young people’s wellbeing and to develop appropriate wording for the measures based on participant responses. Ethics: The study received approval from the University of Bristol Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee (reference 77121).

Methodological challenges surrounding QALY estimation for paediatric economic evaluation

Cost-utility analysis remains the preferred form of economic evaluation for health technology assessment, pricing and reimbursement authorities in several countries. The results of cost-utility analyses are commonly expressed in terms of incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained where the QALY combines length of life and health-related quality of life in a single metric. This commentary provides an overview of key methodological challenges surrounding QALY estimation for paediatric economic evaluation. These challenges include issues surrounding the relevant attributes to incorporate into measurement instruments, appropriate respondents for the measurement and valuation tasks, perspectives adopted when completing valuation tasks, potential sources of bias in the description and valuation processes, and the paucity of psychometric evidence for existing measures. In addition, the commentary considers methodological challenges raised by research aimed at assessing whether a QALY gain by a child should be valued equally to a QALY gain by an adult.

'Like holding the axe on who should live or not': adolescents' and adults' perceptions of valuing children's health states using a standardised valuation protocol for the EQ-5D-Y-3L

Purpose

There is an increasing interest for using qualitative methods to investigate peoples’ cognitive process when asked to value health states. A standardised valuation protocol for the EQ-5D-Y-3L instrument was recently developed. Little is known regarding how people think, reason, and feel when asked to value health states for children. The aim was to explore how adolescents and adults perceive the task of valuing children’s health states using the standardised valuation protocol.

Methods

This was a qualitative study where adults (n = 10) and adolescents (n = 10) from the general population participated in individual video-interviews. Initially, participants reported their own health with the EQ-5D-3L instrument. Then they were asked to complete several valuations tasks for a 10-year-old child according to the standardised valuation protocol, followed by a semi-structured interview with open-ended questions to further explore participants’ perceptions. A qualitative content analysis was performed.

Results

The two main categories that emerged from the data were ‘Thoughts and feelings when valuing children’s health states’ and ‘Strategies when valuing children’s health states’. Participants expressed feeling doubt, awfulness and being reluctant to trade-off life years, and questioned who has the right to value health states for children. Experience and point of view were strategies participants used to complete the valuation tasks.

Conclusion

The findings from the present study can contribute to the understanding and interpretation of quantitative results where the standardised valuation protocol has been used to derive values for the EQ-5D-Y-3L. Furthermore, results of the study support the feasibility of including adolescents in valuation studies.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11136-022-03107-0.

Health utilities in pediatric cancer patients and survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis for clinical implementation

PURPOSE

Health utility (HU) is a useful metric for evaluating cost and utility of cancer therapies or prioritizing healthcare resources. We conducted a meta-analysis to compare HUs in association with clinical parameters and identify missing cancer-related themes from the extant HU measures for pediatric cancer patients and survivors.

METHODS

Studies published in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were identified. Meta-analyses were performed to estimate weighted means of HUs assessed by self- and proxy-responses. Mixed-effects meta-regressions were applied to compare HUs between cancer patients/survivors and general populations. Missing themes in the extant measures were identified based on established patient-reported outcomes frameworks.

RESULTS

Of 123 selected studies included pediatric cancer populations, 44% used the Health Utilities Index version 2 (HUI2), and 48% used version 3 (HUI3). Compared to general populations, cancer patients undergoing therapies for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) had 0.129 (95% CI - 0.183 to - 0.075) and brain tumor had 0.257 (95% CI - 0.354 to - 0.160) lower HUs per proxy-reported HUI3, whereas survivors of ALL had 0.028 (95% CI - 0.062 to 0.007) and brain tumor had 0.188 (95% CI - 0.237 to - 0.140) lower HUs per proxy-reported HUI3. Compared to general populations, cancer patients treated with multimodality therapy and survivors off therapy 2-5 years had significantly poorer HUs (p's < 0.05). Missing cancer-specific contents from the HU measures were identified.

CONCLUSION

Pediatric cancer patients and survivors had poorer HUs than general populations. It is important to select appropriate HUs for economic evaluations, and offer interventions to minimize HU deficits for particular cancer populations.

The cost-effectiveness of treatments for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder in children and adolescents: a systematic review

Economic evaluations can help decision makers identify what services for children with neurodevelopmental disorders provide best value-for-money. The aim of this paper is to review the best available economic evidence to support decision making for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children and adolescents. We conducted a systematic review of economic evaluations of ADHD and ASD interventions including studies published 2010-2020, identified through Econlit, Medline, PsychINFO, and ERIC databases. Only full economic evaluations comparing two or more options, considering both costs and consequences were included. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Drummond checklist. We identified ten studies of moderate-to-good quality on the cost-effectiveness of treatments for ADHD and two studies of good quality of interventions for ASD. The majority of ADHD studies evaluated pharmacotherapy (n = 8), and two investigated the economic value of psychosocial/behavioral interventions. Both economic evaluations for ASD investigated early and communication interventions. Included studies support the cost-effectiveness of behavioral parenting interventions for younger children with ADHD. Among pharmacotherapies for ADHD, different combinations of stimulant/non-stimulant medications for children were cost-effective at willingness-to-pay thresholds reported in the original papers. Early intervention for children with suspected ASD was cost-effective, but communication-focused therapy for preschool children with ASD was not. Prioritizing more studies in this area would allow decision makers to promote cost-effective and clinically effective interventions for this target group.

International guidelines for self-report and proxy completion of paediatric health-related quality of life measures: a protocol for a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Measures of health-related quality of life (HRQoL), accompanied by the values (or utilities) required to estimate quality-adjusted life-years, are crucial for determining health benefits within economic evaluation and health technology assessment. Several generic and condition-specific measures or instruments of HRQoL, accompanied by values, currently exist for application with child populations. However, there is a lack of a structured summary of guidelines and recommendations for applying these measures in practice. This protocol describes a systematic review of guidelines and recommendations for child and proxy completion of child-specific measures of HRQoL. The aims of the review are to (1) identify and summarise published guidelines and recommendations for existing child-specific measures of HRQoL, (2) determine whether the identified guidelines and recommendations differ by instrument and child characteristics, (3) identify current gaps in these guidelines and recommendations and (4) identify best practices for child self and proxy assessment in paediatric HRQoL measurement for economic evaluation and health technology assessment.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The review will identify, collate and synthesise published guidelines and recommendations for existing child-specific utility measures of HRQoL. Electronic databases to be searched include the Cochrane Library, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, EconLit, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Embase and Informit. The search will be extended to websites of (1) international organisations for health technology assessment, (2) regulation, health economics and HRQoL outcomes research and (3) instrument developers. Three reviewers will independently screen titles and abstracts against the inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis will describe the key features of the guidelines identified.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval is not required as the proposed systematic review will not use primary data. A paper of the systematic review will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42020207160.

Self vs. other, child vs. adult. An experimental comparison of valuation perspectives for valuation of EQ-5D-Y-3L health states

OBJECTIVES

EQ-5D-Y-3L health states are valued by adults taking the perspective of a 10-year-old child. Compared to valuation of adult EQ-5D instruments, this entails two changes to the perspective: (i) child health states are valued instead of adult health states and: (ii) health states are valued for someone else instead of for oneself. Although earlier work has shown that these combined changes yield different values for child and adult health states that are otherwise equal, it currently remains unclear why. Hence, we aimed to disentangle the effects of both changes.

METHODS

A sample of 205 students (mean age: 19.48) was surveyed. Each respondent completed visual analogue scale (VAS) and time trade-off (TTO) tasks for five EQ-5D-Y-3L states, using four randomly ordered perspectives: (i) self-adult (themselves), (ii) other-adult (someone their age), (iii) self-child (themselves as a 10-year-old), (iv) other-child (a child of 10 years old). We compared how each perspective impacted outcomes, precision and quality of EQ-5D-Y-3L valuation.

RESULTS

Overall, differences between perspectives were consistent, with their direction being dependent on the health states and respondents. For VAS, the effect on outcomes of valuation depended on severity, but variance was higher in valuation with child perspectives. For TTO, we observed that EQ-5D-Y-3L states valued on behalf of others (i.e., children or adults) received higher valuations, but lower variances.

CONCLUSION

The use of a different perspective appears to yield systematic differences in EQ-5D-Y-3L valuation, with considerable heterogeneity between health states and respondents. This may explain mixed findings in earlier work.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Beta EQ-5D-Y-5L Into Chichewa (Malawi)

OBJECTIVES

The EuroQol Group is developing a new EQ-5D-Y-5L version with 5 severity levels for each of the 5 dimensions. The 5 severity levels describe different health severities and there is a potential for severity level inversion. This article aims to report the process of cross-cultural adaptation of the beta EQ-5D-Y-5L into Chichewa (Malawi) using the card ranking exercise, which has been added to the EQ-5D-Y-5L translation protocol.

METHODS

To assess the correct hierarchical ordering of severity levels, the adaptation followed the EQ-5D-Y-5L translation protocol. Cognitive interviews were undertaken to establish conceptual equivalence. Thereafter, 4 iterations of ranking exercises were conducted, leading to amendments of the translated Chichewa version to arrive at a final version.

RESULTS

The iterations were assessed by 18 participants aged 8 to 14 years. Health proved to be a difficult concept to translate as was "discomfort." Cognitive interviews identified further conceptual issues, particularly with the "looking after myself" dimension. Considerations about lack of soap or water indicated that some children did not fully comprehend this dimension as being about the ability to wash and dress themselves. The iterative card ranking exercise detected severity level inversion between "a little bit" and "some," and between "a lot" and "extreme" and alternative Chichewa words/phrases were then tested. Ultimately, the intended hierarchical severity ranking was achieved and an acceptable Chichewa version was produced.

CONCLUSIONS

Conceptual and linguistic equivalence to the English EQ-5D-Y-5L was established for the Chichewa EQ-5D-Y-5L version. The card ranking exercise was instrumental in correcting severity level inversion and supporting the comprehensible translation.

Deriving health utility indices from a food allergy quality-of-life questionnaire

BACKGROUND

The Food Allergy Quality-of-Life Questionnaire-Parent Form (FAQLQ-PF) is widely used to assess food allergy-specific health-related quality of life (FAQL), but cannot be used directly in cost-utility analyses, which require health state utility (HSU) scores. Currently, limited evidence is available regarding the HSU of food-allergic children/adolescents. This study aimed to develop mapping algorithms from the FAQLQ-PF onto HSU scores generated by generic, preference-based, health-related quality-of-life (HRQL) instruments.

METHODS

Caregivers of children aged 7 to 17 years with a clinician diagnosis of IgE-mediated food allergy, recruited via Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia, completed an online FAQLQ-PF questionnaire and proxy generic preference-based pediatric instruments (Assessment of Quality of Life [AQoL]-6D and Child Health Utility 9D [CHU9D]). Optimal statistical methods were based on series of goodness-of-fit statistics.

RESULTS

Mean FAQLQ-PF total score, AQoL-6D, and CHU9D utility scores of 238 food-allergic children/adolescents were 3.49 (SD: 1.41), 0.78 (SD: 0.22), and 0.74 (SD: 0.22), respectively. The Spearman correlation coefficients of FAQLQ-PF with AQoL-6D and CHU9D were rho = -0.56 and rho = -0.45, respectively. Optimal mapping algorithms were generated from selected FAQLQ-PF items, mapped onto AQoL-6D or CHU9D utility scores, with AQoL-6D demonstrating better performance.

CONCLUSIONS

This study generated mapping algorithms to help facilitate the use of FAQLQ-PF for cost-utility analyses, which are essential for health economic evaluation. External validation of the reported mapping algorithms is warranted.

Patient-caregiver agreement and test-retest reliability of the EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L in paediatric patients with haematological malignancies

BACKGROUND

In 2019, the EuroQol Group developed a 'beta' 5-level version of EQ-5D-Y (Y-5L) by increasing the number of descriptive levels to five for each health dimension, as compared to the standard 3-level EQ-5D-Y (Y-3L).

OBJECTIVE

To assess patient-caregiver agreement and test-retest reliability of the Y-5L and Y-3L in paediatric patients with haematological malignancies.

METHODS

Paediatric inpatients aged 8-17 years were interviewed with the Y-5L and Y-3L questionnaires twice, while their caregivers were interviewed at the same time using the proxy versions of the questionnaires. Patient-caregiver agreement and test-retest reliability were assessed using Gwet's agreement coefficient (Gwet's AC1) for EQ-5D dimensions and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the EQ VAS.

RESULTS

Ninety-six patient-caregiver dyads participated in the study. Patient-caregiver agreement on the EQ-5D-Y descriptive system was moderate to good for both the Y-3L and Y-5L, but poor on the EQ VAS. Test-retest reliability of the descriptive system was good to very good for the Y-3L and moderate to good for the Y-5L in children, and fair to good for both versions of EQ-5D-Y in proxies. The EQ VAS showed good test-retest reliability in both children and caregivers. In a subgroup analysis of results in younger patients aged 8-10 years, patient-caregiver agreement and test-retest reliability were also observed to range from moderate to very good.

CONCLUSION

Both the Y-3L and Y-5L descriptive systems showed acceptable patient-caregiver agreement and test-retest reliability when used to assess the HRQoL of children and adolescents with haematological malignancies, including in younger patients.