Quality of life in benefit-cost analyses of rehabilitation research.
Traditionally, benefit-cost (B-C) models have been limited to the consideration of monetary benefits. This approach has been motivated by the fact that nonmonetary benefits are difficult to define and to quantify. Derived from the general theory of B-C analysis, a model is described which includes 3 categories of benefits, identified by a Delphi-like procedure administered to a broad representation of persons involved in the rehabilitation process. Whereas monetary benefits have the dollar readily available as a unit of measurement, scales for nonmonetary benefits must be developed. Methods for estimating the value and the relative importance of the various benefits are analyzed and a procedure for combining monetary and nonmonetary benefits is proposed.
D003697:Delphi Technique; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D012046:Rehabilitation / Q000191:economics*; D012106:Research