Skip to main content
Publication, Part of

Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in England - 2011-2012, Special topic, EQ-5D™ Index analysis

Official statistics
Publication Date:
Geographic Coverage:
England
Geographical Granularity:
Country, Strategic Health Authorities, Hospital Trusts, Primary Care Trusts, Independent Sector Health Care Providers, Clinical Commissioning Groups, NHS Trusts, Primary Care Organisations, County, Care Trusts, Hospital and Community Health Services
Date Range:
01 Apr 2011 to 31 Mar 2012

Summary

This topic of interest is based on final 2011-12 data, first published on 15 October 2013.

The EQ-5D™ Index is a standardised measure of health status developed by the EuroQol Group in order to provide a simple, generic measure of health for clinical and economic appraisal. Applicable to a wide range of health conditions and treatments, it provides a simple descriptive profile for health status that can be used in the clinical and economic evaluation of healthcare as well as in population health surveys.

The EQ-5D™ Index comprises the following five dimensions:

  • Mobility
  • Self-care e.g. washing and dressing
  • Usual activities e.g. work, study, housework, family or leisure activities
  • Pain/discomfort
  • Anxiety/depression

Each dimension has three levels: no problems, some problems, severe problems. The respondent is asked to indicate his / her health state by ticking (or placing a cross) in the box against the most appropriate statement in each of the five dimensions. This decision results in a one-digit number expressing the level selected for that dimension. The digits for five dimensions can be combined in a five-digit number string describing the respondent's health state, also referred to as the EQ-5D™ 'health profile'. EQ-5D™ health states are converted into a single summary index by applying a formula that essentially attaches values (also called 'social preference weights') to each of the levels in each dimension. The index can be calculated by deducting the appropriate weights from one, the value for full health (i.e. state 11111).

More detailed analysis, broken down by hospital procedures, healthcare Providers and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), is available in the interactive spread sheet below.

Any and all copyrights in the EQ-5D™ questions, their order, layout and images vest in the EuroQol Group (http://www.euroqol.org). The EuroQol Group reserves all rights. © 1992 EuroQol Group. EQ-5D™ is a trademark of the EuroQol Group.

Highlights

For the coverage period April 2011 to March 2012:

  • In 72.7 per cent of cases, patients reported that they had some or severe problems with mobility before their procedure, compared to 39.6 per cent after.
  • In 31.3 per cent of cases, patients reported that they had some or severe problems with self-care before their procedure, compared to 17.1 per cent after.
  • In 73.8 per cent of cases, patients reported that they had some or severe problems with their ability to carry out everyday activities before their procedure, compared to 44.1 per cent after.
  • In 90.3 per cent of cases, patients reported that they had some or severe discomfort before their procedure, compared to 51.7 per cent after.
  • In 33.5 per cent of cases, patients reported that they had some or severe problems with anxiety before their procedure, compared to 19.8 per cent after.
  • Average health gains on the EQ-5D™ Index varied between 0.087 and 0.416 depending on procedure (maximum possible change 1.594), little different from previous years.
  • The mobility and activity questions show particular variation between the orthopaedic and general surgery procedures:
    1. For mobility, 93.5 per cent of hip replacement and 93.4 per cent of knee replacement cases reported that they had some or severe problems before their procedure, compared to 19.4 per cent of groin hernia patients and 25.9 per cent of varicose vein patients.
    2. For activity, 94 per cent of hip replacement and 91 per cent of knee replacement cases reported that they had some or severe problems before their procedure, compared to 27.4 per cent of groin hernia patients and 27.7 per cent of varicose vein patients.

Chart 1 

Resources

Related Links

Last edited: 12 October 2018 3:29 pm