The Online Elicitation of Personal Utility Functions (OPUF) tool: a new method for valuing health states

Abstract

Introduction Standard valuation methods, such as TTO and DCE are inefficient. They require data from hundreds if not thousands of participants to generate value sets. Here, we present the Online elicitation of Personal Utility Functions (OPUF) tool; a new type of online survey for valuing EQ-5D-5L health states using more efficient, compositional elicitation methods, which even allow estimating value sets on the individual level. The aims of this study are to report on the development of the tool, and to test the feasibility of using it to obtain individual-level value sets for the EQ-5D-5L. Methods We applied an iterative design approach to adapt the PUF method, previously developed by Devlin et al., for use as a standalone online tool. Five rounds of qualitative interviews, and one quantitative pre-pilot were conducted to get feedback on the different tasks. After each round, the tool was refined and re-evaluated. The final version was piloted in a sample of 50 participants from the UK. A demo of the EQ-5D-5L OPUF survey is available at: https://eq5d5l.me Results On average, it took participants about seven minutes to complete the OPUF Tool. Based on the responses, we were able to construct a personal EQ-5D-5L value set for each of the 50 participants. These value sets predicted a participants' choices in a discrete choice experiment with an accuracy of 80%. Overall, the results revealed that health state preferences vary considerably on the individual-level. Nevertheless, we were able to estimate a group-level value set for all 50 participants with reasonable precision. Discussion We successfully piloted the OPUF Tool and showed that it can be used to derive a group-level as well as personal value sets for the EQ-5D-5L. Although the development of the online tool is still in an early stage, there are multiple potential avenues for further research.

Valuing EQ-5D-Y: the current state of play

“…A key remaining issue is how best to anchor latent scale DCE data. In particular, whether to continue with combining DCE and cTTO data (in keeping with the current protocol, but with an amended TTO design) or to introduce new methods—for example, variants of DCE which include comparisons of states with dead, or that include duration as one of the attributes [ 32 ] or other new methods being developed (for example, personal utility functions) [ 33 , 34 ]. Until innovative methods are demonstrated to have superior properties, however, the protocol for valuing EQ-5D-Y is expected to continue to be based on the combination of DCE and cTTO.…”

Analytical Considerations When Anchoring Discrete Choice Experiment Values Using Composite Time Trade-Off Data: The Case of EQ-5D-Y-3L

“…Prior studies have considered the use of data from a VAS and more novel tasks such as the LOD approach [ 15 , 16 ]. Another alternative may be to use methods that can generate value sets without additional data collection, such as DCE with duration [ 38 , 39 ], or the (online) PUF approach [ 13 , 14 ]. Less is known about these methods and the similarities of the data that they produce compared with cTTO data in this context.…”

Exploring health preference heterogeneity in the UK: Using the online elicitation of personal utility functions approach to construct EQ‐5D‐5L value functions on societal, group and individual level

“…In the following, the steps will be briefly described. A more detailed description of the OPUF survey and its development is provided in Schneider et al (2022). Much effort went into the design of an intuitive and easy-to-use interface.…”

“…We recently developed a new preference elicitation method, called Online elicitation of Personal Utility Functions (OPUF) (Schneider et al, 2022). The approach is based on previous work by Devlin et al (2019), and allows estimating preferences on the individual person-level.…”