The EQ-5D instrument, as a standardized, cross-culturally validated measure of self-assessed health has a hugely important role in understanding population health within and across countries. Over the past two decades a wealth of international population health survey data have been accumulated by the EuroQol Group from research conducted in many countries across four continents. One of the success factors of the EQ-5D instruments has been the easy availability of national or international sets of EQ-5D data, as well as clear explanations and guidance for users. There is an unmet need to produce a comprehensive book that captures up-to-date and expanded information of EQ-5D self-reported health and index values. EQ-5D population norms and cross-country analyses are provided from representative national surveys of 20 countries and additional regional surveys. This book will be a must for those who believe that how people report and value health is very important.

The EQ-5D is one of the most widely-used generic health state descriptive systems internationally, with applications in clinical trials, public health research and assessments of value for money. In addition to providing a way of describing health and health improvement, the EQ-5D facilitates the valuation of health and health gain through its pre-existing value sets, spanning a wide range of countries and continents. This book brings together, for the first time, a comprehensive inventory of these value sets and their characteristics.

The EQ-5D instrument, as a standardized, cross-culturally validated measure of self-assessed health has a hugely important role in understanding population health within and across countries. Over the past two decades a wealth of international population health survey data have been accumulated by the EuroQol Group from research conducted in many countries across four continents. One of the success factors of the EQ-5D instruments has been the easy availability of national or international sets of EQ-5D data, as well as clear explanations and guidance for users. There is an unmet need to produce a comprehensive book that captures up-to-date and expanded information of EQ-5D self-reported health and index values. EQ-5D population norms and cross-country analyses are provided from representative national surveys of 20 countries and additional regional surveys. This book will be a must for those who believe that how people report and value health is very important.

This book provides an essential guide to the use of the EuroQol Group s value sets for anyone working with EQ-5D data.

The EQ-5D is one of the most widely-used generic health state descriptive systems internationally, with applications in clinical trials, public health research and assessments of value for money. In addition to providing a way of describing health and health improvement, the EQ-5D facilitates the valuation of health and health gain through its pre-existing value sets, spanning a wide range of countries and continents. This book brings together, for the first time, a comprehensive inventory of these value sets and their characteristics.

Further, in response to frequent requests from users of EQ-5D data for advice on valuation, the book provides clear guidance to users on how to choose which value set to use, for what purpose.

This short volume will be of great value to methodologists seeking to understand the valuation systems that underlie the EQ-5D. It's user-friendly organization will assist analysts and other members of the health services research community in determining appropriate valuation sets for studies that rely on the EuroQol instrument.
Marthe Gold, (Logan) Professor of Community Health and Social Medicine, City University of New York Medical School, US.
This book usefully draws together, for the first time, information on the EuroQol Group's value sets of estimated utilities around the world. An important contribution of this book is that analysts now can - and should - use its reporting of the many value sets available to check the extent to which an estimate of the QALY gain of an intervention varies when different sets of estimated utilities are used .
Alastair Fischer, Health Economist, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), UK.
'Finally EuroQoL value sets all in one place, together with some guidance on how to put them to best effect. A handy reference to keep in reach'.
Matthew Brougham, Acting Chief Executive, the Pharmaceutical Management Agency of New Zealand (PHARMAC). "

While the improvement of the overall level of health of the population continues to be a high priority, there is an increasing concern about the distribution of health within the population and the fairness of health care systems. The objective of this book is to provide a comprehensive assessment of income-related equity in health and health care and to explore the value of using health-related quality of life measurement in this application. Cross-sectional analyses were performed based on data from post-transitional period in Hungary. Based on most recent analytic methods, the book reveals substantial income-related health inequalities with pain/discomfort being the principal contributor, and highlights the potential role of pain management programmes in policy-making. The research also finds that a significant part of income-related inequity in delivery of care turns out not to be directly linked to income but to other social, economic and geographical characteristics that are, however, associated with income level. This book is a must for those concerned about health inequalities and research methods to measure them.