Presented by:
Daniel M. Hausman, PhD
Herbert A. Simon and Hilldale Professor
Department of Philosophy
Department of Medical History and Bioethics
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Monday, October 23, 2017
12:00 – 1:00 pm
1345 Health Sciences Learning Center
Generic health measurement systems such as the HUI (Health Utility Index) and the EQ-5D classify health states and then assign “quality weights” to health states. These are supposed to report the “health-related quality of life” (HRQoL) associated with the health state. HRQoL is in turn measured by a variety of preference surveys. Although the global burden of disease measurements purport to indicate the quantity or magnitude of health rather than the value of health, and they rest on comparisons of health rather than preferences, the differences from the HUI and the EQ-5D are smaller than they seem. This lecture will discuss a large number of objections to assigning values to health states by preference surveys, but it will end with a possible vindication of relying on preferences.
This post was authored by Rosalind Bendix-Lewis on 10/18/2017.