title: Which quality of life measures fit your relative effectiveness assessment?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important endpoint of many healthcare interventions. This study develops guidance on how to select appropriate HRQoL measures for inclusion in a clinical trial, given the purposes of the HRQoL measurement.
  
  
  METHODS
  The guidance is based on a systematic literature review, discussions with members of the European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA) and two rounds of public consultation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A set of twelve recommendations was developed, addressing the requirements for HRQoL data for relative effectiveness assessment, for cost-utility analyses and for informing clinical decision making. Recommendations relate to the choice of the type of measure as well as to aspects such as measurement frequency, target population and presentation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The purpose and context of HRQoL measurement is crucial for the relevance of the data obtained with a specific HRQoL measure. It is recommended to always include a generic HRQoL instrument in clinical trials to cover a wide range of possible future uses of the HRQoL data.
authors.affiliation: Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre,AC Kruidtuinirina.cleemput@kce.fgov.be.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cleemput
authors.affiliation: Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre,AC Kruidtuin.
authors.forename: Mattias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Neyt
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003657:Decision Making; D015276:Health Care Rationing; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Guidance; Health-related quality of life; Methodology; Relative effectiveness assessment