Basic versions of the EQ-5D questionnaire as standard international instruments for assessing the quality of life in metropolis. Short Review

Abstract

Background. The quality of care is assessed by set of indicators, including quality of life indicators. Dozens of countries have approved the EQ-5D quality of life questionnaires and have developed national / regional evaluation systems. We carefully hypothesize that the broader usage of EQ-5D in real clinical practice of local Moscow health system could be incentivized and improved through the development of direct region-specific standard EQ-5D «values sets» for population of Russian capital. Purpose. Reviewing the results of the studies on values sets for EQ-5D as well as summarizing the parallel valuations of EQ-5D-3L and -5L by time trade-off based on two examples. Materials and methods. The study was carried out using open external databases. We analyzed the research works which employed the standard valuation methods for EQ-5D, including time trade-off and math modelling. Results. To obtain direct regional values for EQ-5D, standard international protocols (EQ-VT) are used with the inclusion of such tools as: time trade-off, visual analogue scale and experiments with discrete choice. In particular, the application of the time trade-off method allows the generation of direct region-specific values set for EQ-5D. Moreover, the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire was superior to EQ-5D-3L in many aspects. Conclusion. The best results in health assessments could be obtained by applying a variety of methods adapted to the specific highly urbanized region. The many issues behind the standardization of EQ-5D (particularly EQ-5D-5L) value sets in accordance with the cultural/societal preferences of Moscow city population as well as entire Russian population remain unresolved.