An Approach to Reconciling Competing Ethical Principles in Aggregating Heterogeneous Health Preferences.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Health-related quality of life (HRQL) scores are used extensively to quantify the effectiveness of medical interventions. Societal preference-based HRQL scores aim to produce societal valuations of health by aggregating valuations from individuals in the general population, where each aggregation procedure embodies different ethical principles, as explained in social choice theory.

Methods

Using the Health Utilities Index as an exemplar, we evaluate societal preference-based HRQL measures in the social choice theory framework.

Results

We find that current preference aggregation procedures are typically justified in terms of social choice theory. However, by convention, they use only one of many possible aggregation procedures (the mean). Central to the choi

SUBMITTER: Dewitt B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5498236 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature