Five questions and a visual analogue scale that health technology assessment bodies rely on. Capture the EQ-5D-5L with coded levels and an EQ VAS with no preset value, so index values and QALYs can be calculated cleanly.
Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 aligned
Your health today
EQ-5D-5L · Month 3
Mobility
Level 1 no problems · 5 unable / extreme
Pain / discomfort
Health today (EQ VAS)
EQ-5D at a glance
The instrument
Health technology assessment bodies compare treatments by cost per quality-adjusted life year. To calculate QALYs they need a utility value for each participant's health at each time point, on a scale where 1 is full health and 0 is equivalent to death. The EQ-5D is the most widely used way to get those values from trial participants, and several agencies state a preference for it.
That makes it common in Phase 3 trials planning a reimbursement submission, and increasingly in earlier studies that want to model value early. It is also a useful generic quality of life measure in its own right, short enough to add to almost any visit.
The older EQ-5D-3L has three levels per dimension (243 states). The 5L version added two levels to reduce ceiling effects and improve sensitivity. Most new trials use the 5L; check which your target HTA bodies expect and whether a value set exists for your countries. A youth version (EQ-5D-Y) is available for children and adolescents.
The VAS captures the participant's own overall rating of health today. On a phone, it becomes a slider from 0 to 100 with the anchors shown. Capture's visual analogue scales have no preset value, so the participant has to move the marker themselves rather than accepting a default. EuroQol specifies how the EQ VAS must be presented in electronic versions; confirm your layout with them when you register.
Health state
21311
EQ VAS
72
Value set
Country
Structure
| Dimension | Levels | eCRF field |
|---|---|---|
| Mobility | 1 no problems to 5 unable | Single choice or linear scale, coded 1 to 5 |
| Self-care | 1 no problems to 5 unable | Coded 1 to 5 |
| Usual activities | 1 no problems to 5 unable | Coded 1 to 5 |
| Pain / discomfort | 1 none to 5 extreme | Coded 1 to 5 |
| Anxiety / depression | 1 not to 5 extremely | Coded 1 to 5 |
| EQ VAS | 0 to 100 | Slider with anchors, no preset value |
| Health state | Five digits | Derived in analysis from the five codes |
| Index value | Country value set | Derived in analysis |
Structure only. Register with the EuroQol Research Foundation for the questionnaire, official translations and value sets.
Licensing
Record the EuroQol licence number, holder and expiry on the EQ-5D form. The form shows a staff-only watermark until the licence is recorded, and new data collection is blocked if the licence lapses.
eCOA software with licence trackingCopyright & licence
Approval pendingLicence number
Not recorded
Expiry date
Not recorded
Watermark shown to staff only. Participants never see it.
Health economics
Economic models need utilities at baseline, at regular intervals and at key clinical events. Place the EQ-5D at those visits once; the same form runs at every site on participants' phones or clinic tablets, and exports carry the codes your health economists need.
| Assessment | BL | M3 | M6 | M9 | M12 | EoT | FU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EQ-5D-5L | |||||||
| Disease-specific QoL | |||||||
| Resource use |
Build the EQ-5D form in the free sandbox and complete it as a participant.
Analysis
Economists will convert every health state into a utility, then into QALYs across the trial and often beyond it in a model. That chain is only as good as the timing and completeness of the data collected. Three decisions made at protocol stage matter most.
Utility changes around clinical events such as hospitalisation, progression or surgery. If the EQ-5D is only collected at fixed visits, those dips may be missed. Consider additional collection at event-driven visits, and at the end of treatment and follow-up, so the model has data where health actually changes.
Index values depend on the value set used. Multi-country trials usually analyse with one reference value set for the main analysis and national sets for country-specific submissions. Record country on the demographics form or derive it from site, so the right value set can be applied.
Many relatively healthy participants report 11111, so the EQ-5D can be insensitive in mild conditions; the 5L version reduces this compared with the 3L. Missing questionnaires are common in later follow-up, and the pattern often relates to health status, so define how missing data will be handled in the analysis plan and use reminders to keep completion high.
Before go-live
Version (5L, 3L or Y), languages and electronic format confirmed; licence recorded on the form.
Electronic EQ VAS presentation follows EuroQol's requirements.
Reference and national value sets named in the analysis plan.
Extra administrations around key clinical events if the model needs them.
Available for value set selection.
Reminders and dashboard review so later time points are not lost.
A generic health status questionnaire with five dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, anxiety/depression), each rated on five levels, plus the EQ VAS.
The five answers form a health state code, which a country-specific value set converts into an index value anchored at 1 for full health and 0 for dead. The EQ VAS is reported directly, 0 to 100.
A visual analogue scale on which participants rate their overall health today from 0 (worst imaginable) to 100 (best imaginable).
It requires registration with the EuroQol Research Foundation. Commercial use involves a fee; some non-commercial uses are free.
Capture stores the five codes and the VAS value; index values are applied in analysis using the value set for each country.
Yes. The VAS becomes a slider with no preset value. Follow EuroQol's requirements for electronic versions.
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Coded levels, an honest VAS and the licence on record. Free sandbox.