The influence of subjective expectations about length and quality of life on time trade-off answers.
When answering TTO questions respondents sometimes have to imagine being in a certain health state during their remaining lifespan, often based on objective life tables. Respondents however may have subjective expectations about length and quality of life that differ from the objective ones. If respondents do not fully abstract from own expectations, TTO scores may be biased. In this note, we indicate how subjective expectations could influence TTO scores and present some empirical findings suggesting that they do. Our results indicate that subjective expectations may serve as unobserved reference points and as such influence TTO responses.
Institute for Medical Technology Assessment, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Floortje
F
van Nooten
Werner
W
Brouwer
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires