MULTIATTRIBUTE UTILITY FUNCTION FOR A COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH-STATUS CLASSIFICATION-SYSTEM - HEALTH-UTILITIES-INDEX-MARK-2

The Health Utilities Index Mark 2 (HUI:2) is a generic multiattribute, preference-based system for assessing health-related quality of life. Health Utilities Index Mark 2 consists of two components: a seven-att ribute health status classification system and a scoring formula. The seven attributes are sensation, mobility, emotion, cognition, self-car e, pain, and fertility. A random sample of general population parents were interviewed to determine cardinal preferences for the health stat es in the system. The health states were defined as lasting for a 60-y ear lifetime, starting at age 10. Values were measured using visual an alogue scaling. Utilities were measured using a standard gamble techni que. A scoring formula is provided, based on a multiplicative multiatt ribute utility function from the responses of 194 subjects. The utilit y scores are death-anchored (death = 0.0) and form an interval scale. Health Utilities Index Mark 2 and its utility scores can be useful to other researchers in a wide variety of settings who wish to document h ealth status and assign preference scores.