Quality-Adjusted Life Year: Difference between revisions
Wendy Walker (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Wendy Walker (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
To calculate the QALY, the following formula can be used; this assumes a utility value (quality of life) between 1 = perfect health and 0 = dead. | To calculate the QALY, the following formula can be used; this assumes a utility value (quality of life) between 1 = perfect health and 0 = dead. | ||
This results in the following: | This results in the following: | ||
1. If an individual has perfect health for a | 1. If an individual has perfect health for a period of 1 year, they will be said to have 1 QALY. | ||
ie. 1 YEar of Life x 1 Utility Value = 1 QALY | ie. 1 YEar of Life x 1 Utility Value = 1 QALY | ||
2. If an individual lives in perfect health but only for half a year, that individual will have 0.5 WALY. | 2. If an individual lives in perfect health but only for half a year, that individual will have 0.5 WALY. | ||
ie. 0.5 Years of Life x 1 Utility Value = 0.5 QALY | ie. 0.5 Years of Life x 1 Utility Value = 0.5 QALY | ||
3. If an inidividual lives for 1 year in a situation with 0.5 utility (half of perfect health) that individual will have 0.5 QALY | 3. If an inidividual lives for 1 year in a situation with 0.5 utility (half of perfect health) that individual will have 0.5 QALY | ||
ie. 1 Year of Life x 0.5 Utility Value = 0.5 QALY | ie. 1 Year of Life x 0.5 Utility Value = 0.5 QALY | ||
Revision as of 01:07, 4 January 2017
Original Editor - Your name will be added here if you created the original content for this page.
Top Contributors - Wendy Walker, Kim Jackson, Lauren Lopez, Naomi O'Reilly, Tony Lowe, WikiSysop, Jess Bell, Laura Ritchie, Gayatri Jadav Upadhyay, Tarina van der Stockt, Amrita Patro and Samuel Winter
Introduction & Definition[edit | edit source]
The Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY) is a measure of the value and benefit of health outcomes.
Health is definied as a function of two components:
1. length of life
2. quality of life
The QALY is an attempt to combine these two attributes into a single figure/number[1].
Calculation of QALY[edit | edit source]
To calculate the QALY, the following formula can be used; this assumes a utility value (quality of life) between 1 = perfect health and 0 = dead.
This results in the following:
1. If an individual has perfect health for a period of 1 year, they will be said to have 1 QALY.
ie. 1 YEar of Life x 1 Utility Value = 1 QALY
2. If an individual lives in perfect health but only for half a year, that individual will have 0.5 WALY.
ie. 0.5 Years of Life x 1 Utility Value = 0.5 QALY
3. If an inidividual lives for 1 year in a situation with 0.5 utility (half of perfect health) that individual will have 0.5 QALY
ie. 1 Year of Life x 0.5 Utility Value = 0.5 QALY
Function/Uses of QALYs[edit | edit source]
QALYs are used to quantify the effectiveness of a new treatment (eg. new medication) compared to the current treatment for a particular condition.
QALYs can also be used to compare the health benefit of a new treatment for one condition with the health benefit of a new treatment for a different condition. For instance, the QALY permits comparison of a new cancer therapy with the health effect of a new Parkinsons medication.
Limitations of QALYs[edit | edit source]
Recent Related Research (from Pubmed)[edit | edit source]
Extension:RSS -- Error: Not a valid URL: Feed goes here!!|charset=UTF-8|short|max=10
References[edit | edit source]
References will automatically be added here, see adding references tutorial.
- ↑ Pliskin JS, Shepard DS, Weinstein MC. Utility functions for life years and health status. Operations Research 1980;28:206-24
