THE EQ-5D INSTRUMENT OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE - PRESENTATION AND APPLICATIONS IN BULGARIAN CONTEXT
Desislava Vankova
Pages: 37-40
ABSTRACT: The assessment of health-related quality of life is performed with standardized instruments, such as the EQ-5D questionnaire in its versions (EQ-5D-3L; EQ-5D-5L; EQ-5D-Y; EQ-5D-HWB). It has become the "gold standard" and is used successfully in over 30 national and over 10 regional surveys, including in Bulgaria. The aim of this report is to present this standardized instrument for health-related quality of life evaluation and to monitor the national application in a public health and clinical context. Material and methods: The research included the scientific information from the official portal of the EuroQol Research Foundation and PubMed. The following keywords have been used: Bulgaria, EQ-5D.
Results and conclusion: Results have been found, as from its first application of EQ-5D-3L in 2010-2011. The interest in the EQ-5D application in Bulgarian context has been growing. Importantly, population norms for the five-level variant EQ-5D have been successfully created. The EQ-5D instrument is both a science-based and a practical way to measure subjective health and to reveal health inequalities.
Keywords: EQ-5D; health-related quality of life; Bulgaria, EQ-5D
