First EQ-5D-Y value set published

The EuroQol Board and Executive Committee are excited to share news of publication of the
EQ-5D-Y value set for Slovenia in the journal PharmacoEconomics. This is the first EQ-5D-Y value set published for any country around the world. On behalf of the EuroQol Group Association, we would like to congratulate the authors: Valentina Prevolnik Rupel, Marko Ogorevc and the IMPACT HTA HRQoL Group (Wolfgang Greiner, Simone Kreimeier, Kristina Ludwig and Juan Manuel Ramos-Goñi).

EQ-5D-Y is a child-friendly version of the widely used EQ-5D-3L instrument introduced by the EuroQol Group in 2009 to allow child and adolescent respondents to directly self-report their health, without having to rely on reports from intermediaries (e.g. through adult proxies). Until now, no value sets have been available for EQ-5D-Y and research has shown that EQ-5D-3L or EQ-5D-5L value sets (used for adult populations) should not be used to assign values to EQ-5D-Y health states. Consequently, the calculation of quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) using the EQ-5D-Y instrument has not been possible.

The publication of the first EQ-5D-Y value set marks the beginning of a new era where the EQ-5D-Y instrument, in combination with EQ-5D-Y value sets, can be used in cost-utility analysis to inform evaluations of healthcare interventions for use in child and adolescent populations. The value set for Slovenia was derived using the international EQ-5D-Y valuation protocol and is the first in a series of EQ-5D-Y valuation studies, that are due to be published/completed over the coming months.

For further information about EQ-5D-Y, please visit the EuroQol website.