Do Rural Residents in China Understand EQ-5D-5L as Intended? Evidence From a Qualitative Study

Fan Yang, Shan Jiang, Xiao-ning He, Hong-chao Li, Hong-yan Wu, Tian-tian Zhang and Jing Wu ()
Additional contact information
Fan Yang: University of York
Shan Jiang: University of British Columbia
Xiao-ning He: Tianjin University
Hong-chao Li: China Pharmaceutical University
Hong-yan Wu: Guizhou Medical University
Tian-tian Zhang: Jinan University
Jing Wu: Tianjin University

PharmacoEconomics - Open, 2021, vol. 5, issue 1, No 11, 109 pages

Abstract: Abstract Background The 5-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-5L) has been increasingly used in China to measure the health status of the general population and patients. However, its content validity among rural residents in China has not been formally evaluated. This qualitative study aims to assess the content validity of EQ-5D-5L among rural Chinese. Methods Participants were recruited from four regions (North, South, East and West) across China. Eligible participants were those living in the rural area in last three years and making a living by agricultural operations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Interview transcripts were analysed to assess the comprehensibility, relevance, clarity and comprehensiveness. Results Sixty-two participants were included, comparable to the national figures regarding age, sex and education. For comprehensibility, participants could understand the ‘mobility’, ‘self-care’ and ‘usual activities’ domains well, but some reported confusions in ‘pain/discomfort’ (n = 42) and ‘anxiety/depression’ (n = 35). Some also reported difficulties in understanding anxiety (n = 6) and depression (n = 9), possibly due to the formal wording used. For relevance, all domains were reported as health-related and participants’ responses were based on their own health. For clarity, all could distinguish the five levels, but suggestions on reducing response levels and alternative wording for ‘slight’ were raised. For comprehensiveness, two aspects (fatigue/energy and appetite) were raised beyond the EQ-5D-5L domains. The ‘mobility’ domain was selected as the most important and ‘anxiety/depression’ as the least important. Conclusion Rural Chinese reported problems on the content validity of Chinese EQ-5D-5L. It might be sensible to consider some revisions to make it more understandable for rural residents.

Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s41669-020-00212-z Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:pharmo:v:5:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s41669-020-00212-z

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/adis/journal/41669

DOI: 10.1007/s41669-020-00212-z

Access Statistics for this article

PharmacoEconomics - Open is currently edited by Timothy Wrightson and Christopher Carswell

More articles in PharmacoEconomics - Open from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().