Assessing the health-related quality of life of the elderly in rural communities using the EuroQOL-5 dimensions / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To assess the quality of life (QoL) of rural elderly persons using the health-related dimensions of the EuroQol-5 (EQ-5D) scale to analyze the scale's reliability and validity.Methods A total of 2575 elderly residents of Tongchun rural community in Kaihua county,Zhejiang Province,were surveyed using the instrument EQ-5D,and the visual analogue scale of EQ.They included 1027 with and 1548 without chronic disease.Results The mean total EQ-5D score was 6.49 ± 1.94 for the chronic disease group and 5.15 ± 0.44 for the healthy group.The corresponding average visual analogue scale (VAS) scores were 78.15 ± 17.26 and 91.47 ± 4.37,showing significant differences.About 75％ of the elderly respondents reported no difficulties in their living.There was strong correlation between the EQ-VAS scores and the scores on all the EQ-5D scale dimensions.Conclusion The health-related quality of life reported by the rural elderly using this scale seems quite good.The EQ-5D scale,with the EQ-VAS scale as a part of it,is one useful and effective tool for evaluating the health-related quality of life of the elderly in rural areas.