The EQ-5D and SF-36 achieved mixed results in the quantitative testing against psychometric criteria .
The qualitative analysis suggests this is because they provide a very limited coverage of themes identified by people with mental health problems .
BACKGROUND Generic preference-based measures of health like the EQ-5D and SF-6D ( ® ) are increasingly being used in economic evaluation and outcome assessment .
However , there are concerns as to whether or not these generic measures are appropriate for use in people with mental health problems .
OBJECTIVES The EQ-5D and SF-36 ( ® ) ( including its derivatives the SF-12 ( ® ) and SF-6D ) were assessed using the psychometric criteria of validity and responsiveness using quantitative and qualitative methods .
Another aim was to estimate mapping functions between the EQ-5D and SF-6D and condition-specific measures , where appropriate .
Mood symptoms, functional impairment, and disability in people with bipolar disorder: specific effects of mania and depression.
OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between changes in mood symptoms and changes in functioning or disability in people treated for bipolar disorder . METHOD This study was a secondary analysis of data from 441 patients enrolled in a r and omized trial of a care management and psychoeducational intervention for bipolar disorder ( diagnosed according to DSM-IV ) . Study participants were enrolled between August 1999 and October 2000 , and follow-up data were collected until October 2001 . Five in-person assessment s spaced 3 months apart included structured assessment of current mood symptoms  ( using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV ) , the  Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey ( SF-36 ) functional status question naire , and questions regarding days of disability during the past 3 months .  Repeated- measures analyses examined the associations between each outcome measure and severity of mood symptoms . Additional analyses separated variability in mood symptoms into between-person variation ( average symptom severity , or trait effects ) and within-person variation ( change from average symptom severity , or state effects ) . RESULTS Severity of depression symptoms showed a strong and consistent association with all 4 measures of impairment and disability ( SF-36 Role-Emotional score , SF-36 Social Function score , days unable to perform household responsibilities , days disabled from other activities ; p < .001 for all comparisons ) . These associations all remained highly significant ( p < .001 ) after adjustment for co-occurring symptoms of mania . Severity of mania/ hypomania symptoms also showed significant association with all disability measures ( p < .001 for all comparisons ) , but these associations were weaker after adjustment for co-occurring symptoms of depression ( p < .001 for SF-36 Role-Emotional score , p = .004 for SF-36 Social Function score , p = .069 for days unable to perform household activities , p = .049 for days disabled from other activities ) . In analyses focused on within-person variation , change in depression was again strongly related to all measures of impairment and disability ( p < .001 for all comparisons ) . After adjustment for co-occurring depression , change in mania/hypomania was not consistently associated with measures of impairment or disability ( p = .02 for SF-36 Role-Emotional score ; p > .40 for all other comparisons ) . CONCLUSIONS Among people treated for bipolar disorder , modest changes in severity of depression are associated with statistically and clinical ly significant changes in functional impairment and disability . In contrast , changes in severity of mania or hypomania are not consistently associated with differences in functioning . Conventional measures of functioning , however , may not be sensitive to the effects of mania symptoms
The EQ-5D and SF-36 achieved mixed results in the quantitative testing against psychometric criteria .
The qualitative analysis suggests this is because they provide a very limited coverage of themes identified by people with mental health problems .
BACKGROUND Generic preference-based measures of health like the EQ-5D and SF-6D ( ® ) are increasingly being used in economic evaluation and outcome assessment .
However , there are concerns as to whether or not these generic measures are appropriate for use in people with mental health problems .
OBJECTIVES The EQ-5D and SF-36 ( ® ) ( including its derivatives the SF-12 ( ® ) and SF-6D ) were assessed using the psychometric criteria of validity and responsiveness using quantitative and qualitative methods .
Another aim was to estimate mapping functions between the EQ-5D and SF-6D and condition-specific measures , where appropriate .