17D
Based on the 15D, a version has been developed basically for children aged 8-11 years (17D©/Marjo Apajasalo and Harri Sintonen). With proxy administration it can also be used for younger children. The health state descriptive system (questionnaire) includes 17 dimensions (ABBREVIATIONS in parentheses are variable names in the valuation algorithm, followed by the number of the dimension on the 17D questionnaire):
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Mobility (MOVE, Q3)
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Vision (SEE, Q1)
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Hearing (HEAR, Q2)
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Breathing (BREATH, Q7)
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Sleeping (SLEEP, Q5)
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Eating (EAT, Q4)
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Speech (SPEECH, Q16)
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Excretion (EXCRET, Q6)
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School and hobbies (SCHOOL, Q12)
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Learning and memory (LEARN, Q15)
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Discomfort and symptoms (DISCO, Q8)
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Depression (DEPR, Q17)
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Distress (DISTR, Q10)
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Vitality (VITAL, Q9)
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Appearance (APPEAR, Q11)
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Friends (FRIEND, Q13)
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Concentration (CONCE, Q14)
Levels: 5 ordinal levels on each dimension, by which more or less of the attribute is distinguished. The respondent chooses from each dimension the level, which best describes her/his present health status.
Completion time: It takes about 20-30 minutes to complete the questionnaire in a structured interview. Full instructions for completion are on the questionnaire.
Mode of administration: Primarily structured interview. Proxy administration is recommended, if applied among children younger than 8 years.
Languages: The 17D questionnaire is available so far in English, Finnish, French and Swedish.
Note: The dimension earlier called "eliminatoin" has been changed to "excretion" to better reflect the content of that ddimension.
The valuation system
The valuation system of the 17D is based on an application of the multi-attribute utility theory. The single index (17D score) on a 0‑1 scale, representing the overall HRQoL (0 = being dead, 1 = no problems on any dimension = ‘full’ HRQOL) is calculated from the health state descriptive system by using a set of population‑based preference or utility weights, which have been elicited from a sample of parents of 8-11 years old school children with a similar methodology as applied with the 15D.
Most of what is said on this website on the 15D applies also to the 17D. For more information on the development and properties of the 17D, see Apajasalo M, Rautonen J, Holmberg C, Sinkkonen J, Aalberg V, Pihko H, Siimes MA, Kaitila I, Mäkelä A, Erkkilä K, Sintonen H. Quality of life in pre-adolescence: A seventeen-dimensional health-related measure (17D). Quality of Life Research 5:1996; 532-538. The list of publications on this website includes also applications of this instrument.
For more information and permission of use, please contact either one of the copyright holders (marjoapajasalo@yahoo.com or harri.sintonen@helsinki.fi).