Can care staff accurately assess health-related quality of life of care home residents? A secondary analysis of data from the OPERA trial

Conclusions Care home residents and staff appear to differ fundamentally in their assessment of the health-related quality of life, as measured by the EQ-5D, of residents with different levels of depression, pain and/or cognitive impairment. This could lead to interventions evaluated using proxy-based quality-adjusted life year estimates being wrongly rejected on cost-effectiveness grounds and may also make it difficult for carers to act as advocates with health and social care professionals for certain groups of residents. A more resident-focussed approach to assessment of health-related quality of life is needed.
Source: BMJ Open - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Open access, Health economics, Research methods Source Type: research