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 .
Application of a disease-specific mapping function to estimate utility gains with effective treatment of schizophrenia
Background Most tools for estimating utilities use clinical trial data from general health status models , such as the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey ( SF-36 ) . A disease-specific model may be more appropriate . The objective of this study was to apply a disease-specific utility mapping function for schizophrenia to data from a large , 1-year , open-label study of long-acting risperidone and to compare its performance with an SF-36-based utility mapping function . Methods Patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder by DSM-IV criteria received 25 , 50 , or 75 mg long-acting risperidone every 2 weeks for 12 months . The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale ( PANSS ) and SF-36 were used to assess efficacy and health-related quality of life . Movement disorder severity was measured using the Extrapyramidal Symptom Rating Scale ( ESRS ) ; data concerning other common adverse effects ( orthostatic hypotension , weight gain ) were collected . Transforms were applied to estimate utilities . Results A total of 474 patients completed the study . Long-acting risperidone treatment was associated with a utility gain of 0.051 using the disease-specific function . The estimated gain using an SF-36-based mapping function was smaller : 0.0285 . Estimates of gains were only weakly correlated ( r = 0.2 ) . Because of differences in scaling and variance , the requisite sample size for a r and omized trial to confirm observed effects is much smaller for the disease-specific mapping function ( 156 versus 672 total subjects ) . Conclusion Application of a disease-specific mapping function was feasible . Differences in scaling and precision suggest the clinical ly based mapping function has greater power than the SF-36-based measure to detect differences in utility
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 .