title: EuroQol Protocols for Time Trade-Off Valuation of Health Outcomes.
abstract: The time trade-off (TTO) valuation technique is widely used to determine utility values of health outcomes to inform quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) calculations for use in economic evaluation. Protocols for implementing TTO vary in aspects such as the trade-off framework, iteration procedure and its administration model and method, training of respondents and interviewers, and quality control of data collection. The most widely studied and utilized TTO valuation protocols are the Measurement and Valuation of Health (MVH) protocol, the Paris protocol and the EuroQol Valuation Technology (EQ-VT) protocol, all developed by members of the EuroQol Group. The MVH protocol and its successor, the Paris protocol, were developed for valuation of EQ-5D-3L health states. Both protocols were designed for a trained interviewer to elicit preferences from a respondent using the conventional TTO framework with a fixed time horizon of 10 years and an iteration procedure combining bisection and titration. Developed for valuation of EQ-5D-5L health states, the EQ-VT protocol adopted a composite TTO framework and made use of computer technology to facilitate data collection. Training and monitoring of interviewers and respondents is a pivotal component of the EQ-VT protocol. Research is underway aiming to further improve the EuroQol protocols, which form an important basis for the current practice of health technology assessment in many countries.
authors.affiliation: EuroQol Research Foundation, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oppe
authors.affiliation: Health Services Research Centre, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway.|Dept. of Health Management and Health Economics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rand-Hendriksen
authors.affiliation: Office of Health Economics, London, UK.
authors.forename: Koonal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: EuroQol Research Foundation, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Juan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ramos-Goñi
authors.affiliation: Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, 12 Science Drive 2, Block MD1, #11-01D, Singapore, 117549, Singapore. nan_luo@nuhs.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D018803:Models, Economic; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors