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This paper describes a case study in which one aspect of the output of a hospital in a London teaching group was measured for one month. The study was related to a theoretical model, which is outlined, and which could be extended as the basis of a health index. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A difficult task in designing indices of health and measures of health output is deriving a scale of valuations of a set of defined states of health or illness. A scale derived by structured interview of 70 subjects and tested on a further 50 subjects is described. The method aims for a ratio scale and the extent to which this has actually been achieved is discussed. Scale values appear to be independent of the sex, age, socio-economic group, religious belief and past medical history of the subject, but have some association with current experience of illness. There is agreement between scale values obtained from medical nurses and patients and agreement between the different values obtained from psychiatric nurses and patients.