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Validation of disability categories derived from Health Utilities Index Mark 3 scores
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by Yan Feng, Julie Bernier, Cameron McIntosh and Heather Orpana
Abstract
Keywords
Findings
Authors
Abstract
Objectives
To establish empirical evidence for the validity of the following disability categories derived from Health Utilities Index Mark III (HUI3) global utility scores: none (1.00), mild (0.89 to 0.99), moderate (0.70 to 0.88), and severe (less than 0.70).
Data and methods
Data from the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey (cycle 3.1) were analyzed. Frequency distributions, stratum-specific likelihood ratios, and multinomial regression were used to examine the relationship between health indicators and the HUI3 disability categories.
Results
People reporting chronic conditions, activity restrictions, and fair/poor self-rated health (general and mental) were more likely to be in the moderate and severe disability categories. Those having more positive outcomes on the health indicators tended to fall into the mild and no disability groups. The stratum-specific likelihood ratios increased monotonically with the severity of disability level. Compared to those with positive health status characteristics, those with negative health status characteristics had the highest odds of falling in the severe rather than the non-disabled category.
Interpretation
This study makes an initial contribution to the evidence base for the validity of the proposed HUI3 disability categories. The categories were well-supported empirically and are likely to be useful for assessing disability levels.
Keywords
activities of daily living, chronic disease, health status indicators, health surveys
Findings
Functional health status and health-related quality of life are important outcomes in a variety of research contexts, such as population studies, clinical trials, and the evaluation of health care programs. One of the leading instruments for measuring functional health status and health-related quality of life is the Health Utilities Index Mark III (HUI3). [Full text]
Authors
Yan Feng (613-951-0712; Yan.Feng@statcan.gc.ca) is with the Income Statistics Division and Julie Bernier (613-951-4556; Julie.Bernier@statcan.gc.ca), Cameron McIntosh (613-951-3725; Cameron.McIntosh@statcan.gc.ca) and Heather Orpana (613-951-1650; Heather.Orpana@statcan.gc.ca) are with the Health Analysis Division at Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0T6.
