Integrating equity and productivity in health evaluation

TL;DR

This paper proposes a comprehensive framework for health evaluation that combines equity and productivity considerations, extending traditional measures and ensuring normative consistency.

Contribution

It introduces a new class of evaluation functions that integrate equity and productivity, with normative criteria ensuring tractability and coherence.

Findings

Develops a unified framework for health outcomes evaluation.

Extends traditional measures like QALYs, PALYs, and PQALYs.

Provides normative criteria for evaluating interventions.

Abstract

This paper develops a unified framework for evaluating health outcomes that jointly incorporates equity and productivity. Extending beyond traditional QALYs, PALYs, and the more recent PQALYs, we introduce a broader class of evaluation functions that integrate equity- and productivity-sensitive conditions. By imposing several normative criteria, including independence from measurement scales and Pigou-Dalton transfer principles, we obtain tractable power-form representations. In balancing equity and efficiency, the framework provides a coherent foundation for assessing interventions in contexts where both health and productive capacity are at stake.