This is a past event
The first confirmed HERU External Seminar for 2017/18 will be given by Dr Trine Kjær, Associate Professor, Centre for Health Economics Research (COHERE), University of Southern Denmark.
Title: Preferences for QALYs at end-of-life: an empirical study.
Abstract: Recently there has been an increased policy focus on whether gains generated for patients with terminal illness should be valued higher than gains in other patients. This has led to range of studies examining the justification for an end-of-life premium. Still results remain inconclusive. In the present study we seek to overcome some of the shortcomings of the previous studies. Using a simple but well-designed stated preference approach with illustrative binary choices, we elicit public preferences for distributions of health. We focus on three types of treatments (end-of-life treatment, treatment of curable non-terminal diseases, and preventive healthcare) and disentangle whether any differences result from improvement in quality-of-life (QoL) or life extension. Furthermore, we examine the impact of perspective (social vs. individual) on elicited preferences and whether social preferences are affected by age of beneficiaries. Overall, we do not find evidence to support an end-of-life premium either when preferences are elicited from a social or individual perspective or for young or old beneficiaries. Furthermore, we find that an improvement in QoL at end-of-life is valued considerably higher than an equally sized life extension. Finally, we find only few significant differences in preference structures. Yet there seem to be a tendency to value a gain in life extension relatively higher in the social setting than in the individual setting implying that social preferences seem to differ from more narrowly self-interested preferences.
Note that a sandwich lunch will be available at this event.
Other HERU seminars are featured on the HERU External Seminars page.
- Hosted by
- Dr Verity Watson
- Venue
- Rm 1:029, Polwarth Building