Health-related quality of life measurement for evaluation research and policy analysis.

Describes a unit of health status, the "Well-Year," which expresses the output of health programs in terms of the number of years and the health-related quality of life produced by a treatment or program. Dividing the cost of the program by the number of Well-Years that it produces gives the cost–utility of the program. This cost–utility ratio can be used in a general health policy model to compare the efficiency of different programs or to assess the relative contribution of different programs and providers in the health-care system. Different components of the model are useful (1) for the effectiveness of medical interventions, (2) to assess the quality of care, (3) to improve clinical decision making, (4) to assess needs of different populations, and (5) to understand causes of variations in health. A comprehensive standardized measure of health status has many advantages for health planning, decision analysis, and program evaluation. An example demonstrates how the relative production of Well-Years by psychologists might be compared to the contribution of other health-care services. (66 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)