The Health Utilities Index (HUI®) System for Assessing Health-Related Quality of Life in Clinical Studies

Purpose. The paper reviews the Health Utilities Index (HUI®) as a means to describe health status and obtain utility scores reflecting health-related quality of life (HRQL). Materials. The HUI Mark 2 (HUI2) and Mark 3 (HUI3) classification and scoring systems are described. The methods used to estimate multi-attribute utility functions for HUI2 and HUI3 are reviewed. The use of HUI in clinical studies for a wide variety of conditions in a large number of countries is illustrated. Principal Findings. HUI provides a comprehensive description of the health status of subjects in clinical studies. HUI has been shown to be a reliable, responsive and valid measure in a wide variety of clinical studies. Utility scores provide an overall assessment of the HRQL of patients. Utility scores are also useful in cost-utility analyses and related studies. General population norm data are available. The widespread use of HUI facilitates the interpretation of results and permits comparisons. Conclusions. HUI is a useful tool for assessing health status and HRQL in clinical studies.