Introduction

Abstract

EQ-5D is a standardized health-related quality of life questionnaire 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, a self-report visual analogue scale and a single index value for health status that can be used in the clinical and economic evaluation of health care as well as in population health surveys. The EuroQol Group is frequently asked to provide EQ-5D population reference data for a specific country or international region. Such data can be used to compare profiles for patients with specific conditions with data for the average person in the general population in a similar age and/or gender group. Also the burden of disease in question can be compared to the general population’s health. The current book presents the population norms for 24 countries and some of their regions as well as results of four additional analyses of population health based on EQ-5D, including EQ-5D index norms.