title: Evaluation of the Health Utilities Index Mark-3 in heart failure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability, validity, and responsiveness to change of the Health Utilities Index Mark-3 (HUI-3) in heart failure (HF) for use in cost-effectiveness studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred eleven patients with HF recruited from outpatient clinics were enrolled; 165 completed the 26-week study. Patients completed 4 health-related quality of life questionnaires (baseline and 4, 8, and 26 weeks), including the HUI-3, the Medical Outcomes Study Short-form 12 (SF-12), the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (LHFQ), and the Chronic Heart Failure Questionnaire (CHQ). The HUI-3 indicated moderate or fair health-related quality of life overall; the attributes most impaired were pain, ambulation, cognition, and emotion. Internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.51) was low and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.68) was adequate. The HUI-3 total score was significantly associated with the SF-12, LHFQ, and CHQ total scores. It discriminated among patients with varying New York Heart Association class (P < .001) and varying perceived health (P < .001). The HUI-3 was less responsive to perceived change in health condition than the LHFQ or the CHQ.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The HUI-3 demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity in this sample supporting its use in cost-effectiveness studies.
authors.affiliation: The University of Michigan School of Nursing, 400 N. Ingalls, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. spressle@umich.edu
authors.forename: Susan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Pressler
authors.forename: George J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Eckert
authors.forename: Gwendolyn C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Neil B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Oldridge
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult