Comparative assessment of SF-6D health state preferences among Lebanese population pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: Lebanon’s socio-economic situation has deteriorated significantly in recent years, a decline further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This multifaceted crisis may have shaped how individuals perceive and value different health states. The primary objective of this study was to assess and compare health state preferences of the general Lebanese population before and after the COVID-19 pandemic using the SF-6D measure. A secondary objective was to identify key predictors of these preferences, including sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted before and after the pandemic. A total of 249 SF-6D–defined health states were valued by 577 participants from the general population using standard gamble. Independent-samples t-tests and chi-square analyses examined differences in characteristics, while linear regression models identified predictors of SF-6D utility scores.

Results: Data from 553 eligible respondents provided 3,308 valuations: 1,813 from 303 respondents preCOVID (July–October 2019) and 1,495 from 250 respondents post-COVID (February–July 2022). Results showed a significant shift in health state preferences post-COVID, with higher mean utility scores (preCOVID: 0.646±0.284; post-COVID: 0.719±0.258). Multiple regression analysis, adjusting for sociodemographic and health state dimensions, identified time (pre/post-COVID) (B=0.070; p<.001), number of children ≤14 (B=-0.017; p<.001), educational (B=0.006; p=.039), smoking (B=-0.006; p<.001), and health conditions like asthma (B=0.028; p=.024) and liver problems (B=0.055; p=.006) as significant predictors.

Conclusion: This study highlights important shifts in health state preferences in Lebanon post-COVID. The influence of family burden and lifestyle factors on valuations has implications for public health policy, particularly when relying on pre-pandemic data.