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Abstract

Objectives
Governments are turning their attention to evidence on subjective measures of well-being to inform policy decisions. In the context of health, there is therefore growing interest in understanding how measures of health-related quality of life relate to subjective well-being, and whether subjective well-being could provide a basis for resource allocation decisions in the future. This study investigates the relationship between health-related quality of life, as measured by EQ-5D, and subjective well-being in Parkinson’s disease.

Methods
A paper questionnaire including EQ-5D, four key subjective well-being questions taken from the Integrated Household Survey in England and other demographic details was distributed to people with Parkinson’s disease in the UK. Responses were used to estimate multiple regression models explaining subjective well-being using the EQ-5D Index (UK weights), EQ-5D dimensions and EQ-VAS and patient socio-demographic characteristics.

Results
A total of 199 responses were received. Combining EQ-VAS and EQ-5D dimensions, especially anxiety/depression and, to a lesser extent, mobility, yielded the best-fitting models (adjusted R2 range 0.36-0.53). Parkinson’s disease patients living in care homes report lower levels of subjective well-being than those living alone. These effects are not captured by the health-related quality of life measures in the analysis.

Conclusions
Usual health-related quality of life measures can partially explain different well-being dimensions, yet they fail to capture part of the broader impact of disease on subjective well-being. Further empirical research into the relationship between subjective well-being and EQ-5D longitudinally, and in different disease areas, is required, and further standardisation of subjective well-being measures is recommended.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Value in Health. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Value in Health, Volume 17, Issue 4 , Pages 372-379. Article in press.
Publisher Keywords:	Subjective Well-being, EQ-5D, Happiness, Parkinson’s Disease,
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine
Departments:	School of Policy & Global Affairs > Economics
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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