title: EQ-5D for the assessment of health-related quality of life and resource allocation in children: a systematic methodological review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  EQ-5D is widely used in studies with adults as a source of generic health-related quality of life information and utility weights to inform resource allocation decisions. This methodological systematic review describes the extent to which EQ-5D has been used in the evaluation of children's health care, assesses psychometric properties, and makes recommendations for future good practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  Systematic searches of databases and the Internet to identify studies published during 2000-2010 that either used EQ-5D with children younger than age 19 years as an outcome measure or reported psychometric data. Study characteristics, including measures and psychometric data, were extracted into tables for analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 29 studies that used four versions of the EQ-5D: adult EQ-5D, EQ-5D-Y, Dutch EQ-5D child, and extended with cognitive dimension, EQ-5D+C. Twelve of 29 studies did not specify the EQ-5D version used. Existing literature lacks detail on the specific use of EQ-5D and its potential effects on findings. Version use and psychometric properties were inadequately reported. There are large gaps in current knowledge of psychometric properties across all versions when used with children.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For reasons of comparability with resource use across adult and children's services, there are arguments for continued use of EQ-5D in studies with children. We recommend use of EQ-5D alongside children-specific quality of life measures and disease-specific measures. Researchers are encouraged to undertake methodological and philosophical analyses to better understand and improve evidence as to how adults who make decisions about resource allocation can best take account of children in decision making.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health-Related Research, School of Healthcare Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Noyes
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Edwards
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D040841:Resource Allocation / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult