The aim of this research is to develop a single index, generic measure of health status for use in the evaluation of health care. The classification of health states defined by the EuroQoL EQ-5D was adopted as the standard descriptive system for use in this project. Time trade-off was selected as the standard valuation method following an earlier comparative study of different scaling methods. The national survey additionally generated data on self-reported health status. These data reveal significant variation by age, social class, educational attainment, housing tenure and smoking behaviour.
Results are to be published shortly.
EQ-5D is being used in a wide range of clinical and economic studies. A central support service for users, with an associated public-access archive, is envisaged, but this development is contingent on the availability of external funds.