Health state preferences are equivalent in the United States and Trinidad and Tobago.
OBJECTIVE
To derive preference weights in Trinidad and Tobago for Quality of Well-being Scale (QWB) health states in order to calculate QWB scores that can be compared to scores calculated from US-derived preference weights. The comparison was to determine whether the QWB scores from these different preference weights would lead to similar conclusions.


METHODS
We conducted in-person household interviews to elicit preferences for 65 health states using a probability sample of 235 adults from Port of Spain, Chaguanas and San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago. A regression model with correction for within-person clustering of observations was used to obtain preference weights based on case judgments on a 0 (dead) to 10 ("perfect health") scale. The independent variables were the components of the QWB entered as indicator (0, 1) variables.


RESULTS
One hundred and nineteen (51%) respondents provided ratings. The respondents that provided ratings were demographically no different from those that did not. The QWB response patterns were very similar using Trinidad and US weights. The mean (SD) QWB score was 0.750 (0.130) for female respondents and 0.784 (0.125) for male respondents using Trinidad coefficients (t2, 233=-2.05, P=0.04) and 0.747 (0.131) for female respondents and 0.783 (0.126) for male respondents using US weights (t2, 233=-2.17, P=0.03).


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, we found the US and Trinidad and Tobago weights were highly similar and that the choice of either set of weights would lead to similar conclusions.
Health Services, UCLA School of Public Health, Box 951772, 31-293C CHS, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1772, USA, rhector_2000@yahoo.com.
Richard D
RD
Hector
John P
JP
Anderson
Rosemarie C P
RC
Paul
Robert E
RE
Weiss
Ron D
RD
Hays
Robert M
RM
Kaplan
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D054521:Cultural Competency; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D003469:Culture; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010147:Pain Measurement; D057240:Patient Preference; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014300:Trinidad and Tobago; D014481:United States