Multiattribute Utility Function for a Comprehensive Health Status Classification System

TLDR

The Health Utilities Index Mark 2 is a generic, preference‑based system that classifies health status across seven attributes—sensation, mobility, emotion, cognition, self‑care, pain, and fertility—and assigns scores via a multiplicative utility function. A random sample of 194 parents was interviewed to elicit cardinal preferences for 60‑year‑lifetime health states starting at age 10, with utilities measured by visual analogue scaling and standard gamble, and a scoring formula derived from the responses. The resulting utility scores are death‑anchored (0.0), form an interval scale, and enable researchers to document health status and assign preference scores in diverse settings.

Abstract

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-attribute health status classification system and a scoring formula. The seven attributes are sensation, mobility, emotion, cognition, self-care, pain, and fertility. A random sample of general population parents were interviewed to determine cardinal preferences for the health states in the system. The health states were defined as lasting for a 60-year lifetime, starting at age 10. Values were measured using visual analogue scaling. Utilities were measured using a standard gamble technique. A scoring formula is provided, based on a multiplicative multiattribute utility function from the responses of 194 subjects. The utility 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 health status and assign preference scores.