EQ-5D

EQ-5D is a standardised measure of health-related quality of life developed by the EuroQol Group to provide a simple, generic questionnaire for use in clinical and economic appraisal and population health surveys. EQ-5D assesses health status in terms of five dimensions of health and is considered a ‘generic’ questionnaire because these dimensions are not specific to any one patient group or health condition. EQ-5D can also be referred to as a patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure, because patients can complete the questionnaire themselves to provide information about their current health status and how this changes over time. ‘EQ-5D’ is not an abbreviation and is the correct term to use when referring to the instrument in general.[1]

EQ-5D is widely used around the world in clinical trials and real-world clinical settings, population studies, and health economic evaluations. By mid-2020, the number of EQ-5D studies registered with the EuroQol Group totalled over 39,000. These comprised over 80 clinical areas and related to surgical procedures, hospital waiting lists, physiotherapy, general practice and primary care, and rehabilitation. The number of annual requests to use EQ-5D is approximately 5000, and EQ-5D data have been reported in over 8000 peer-reviewed papers over the past 30 years.[2]

EQ-5D can be used for a variety of purposes.

  • In clinical trials and routine clinical settings, EQ-5D can be used (i) to provide a profile of patient health on the day of questionnaire completion; (ii) to monitor the health status of patient groups at particular times, e.g. at referral, admission, discharge, and follow-up; and (iii) to measure changes in health status over time in individual patients and in cohorts of patients, such as before and after health interventions and treatments.
  • In population studies, EQ-5D can be used to assess population health status at local and national levels and to follow population health status over time.
  • In medical decision-making, EQ-5D can be used (i) to measure the impacts and outcomes of healthcare services; (ii) to provide relevant information for the economic evaluation of health programmes and policies; and (iii) to assist in providing evidence about effectiveness in processes where drugs or procedures require approval.

EQ-5D is recommended by many health technology assessment (HTA) bodies internationally as a key component of cost-utility analyses.[3]

EQ-5D was developed by the EuroQol Group, and its distribution and licensing are managed by the EuroQol Research Foundation. The EuroQol website [4] provides detailed information and the latest developments about EQ-5D including guidance for users, a list of available language versions and value sets by country/region, population norms, and key EQ-5D references. It also explains how to obtain the questionnaire. Those wishing to use EQ-5D must first register their study or trial via the website, using the page ‘How to obtain EQ-5D’,[5] which has more detailed information about registering, including an animated video. EQ-5D is provided without charging a license fee to non-commercial organisations after they have registered (approximately 95% of users), while commercial users are charged a fee. Registering a study does not obligate the purchase of an EQ-5D licence, but it enables the EuroQol Research Foundation to provide further information relevant to the type of study proposed, including terms and conditions (and licence fees if applicable).

  1. ^ Brooks, Richard; Boye, Kristina S.; Slaap, Bernhard (December 2020). "EQ-5D: a plea for accurate nomenclature". Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes. 4 (1): 52. doi:10.1186/s41687-020-00222-9. PMC 7334333. PMID 32620995.
  2. ^ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=eq-5d&filter=dates.1990-2020%2F12%2F21 (accessed 21st December 2020).[not specific enough to verify]
  3. ^ Kennedy-Martin, Matthew; Slaap, Bernhard; Herdman, Michael; van Reenen, Mandy; Kennedy-Martin, Tessa; Greiner, Wolfgang; Busschbach, Jan; Boye, Kristina S. (November 2020). "Which multi-attribute utility instruments are recommended for use in cost-utility analysis? A review of national health technology assessment (HTA) guidelines". The European Journal of Health Economics. 21 (8): 1245–1257. doi:10.1007/s10198-020-01195-8. PMC 7561556. PMID 32514643.
  4. ^ "EuroQol | HELPING THE WORLD MAKE BETTER HEALTH DECISIONS". EuroQol.
  5. ^ "How to obtain EQ-5D".