Valuing selected WAItE health states using the Time Trade-Off methodology: findings from an online interviewer-assisted remote survey

Abstract

Abstract Purpose The Weight-Specific Adolescent Instrument for Economic Evaluation (WAItE) is a physical weight-specific patient reported outcome measure for use in adolescence. The purpose of this study was to use the Time Trade-Off (TTO) methodology, administered using an online interviewer-assisted remote survey, to obtain utility values for several health states from the WAItE descriptive system from a sample of the UK adult general population. Methods The adult sample was gathered using a market research company and a sample of local residents. All participants completed the same interviewer-assisted remote survey, which included rating WAItE states of varying impairment using the TTO. Results 42 adults completed the survey. Utility values were gathered for four health states, ranging from low impairment to the most severe health from the WAItE descriptive system (the Pits state). Consistent orderings of the WAItE health states were observed; the health state with the lowest level of impairment was valued highest and the Pits state was valued lowest. Several respondents (n = 7, 17%) considered the Pits state to be worse than death; however, the mean value of this health state was 0.23. Conclusions The utility value of the Pits state relative to death generated from this study will be used to anchor latent values for WAItE health states generated from a Discrete Choice Experiment onto the 0 = death, 1 = full health Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) scale as part of a valuation study for the WAItE in the UK population. This study also provides further evidence that interviewer-assisted digital studies are feasible for collecting TTO data.