Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32944897›Full record

ArticleThe patient2021

How Do Respondents Interpret and View the EQ-VAS? A Qualitative Study of Three Asian Populations.

Rachel Lee-Yin Tan, Zhihao Yang, Ataru Igarashi, Michael Herdman, Nan Luo

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The patient, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Exploration of visual analogue scale versions with the EQ-HWB-9 to measure health, social care, and carer-related quality of life: a VASt landscape.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
    Article
  2. Challenges with interviewer administration of EQ-5D questionnaires in a large-scale population survey in China: a qualitative analysis.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
    Article
  3. Psychometric performance of the experimental EQ-HWB-9 and EQ-5D-5L in the general Chinese population.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Exploring the origin and conceptual framework of the EQ VAS.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2025
    Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. 'Like holding the axe on who should live or not': adolescents' and adults' perceptions of valuing children's health states using a standardised valuation protocol for the EQ-5D-Y-3L.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2022
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Patient-caregiver agreement and test-retest reliability of the EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L in paediatric patients with haematological malignancies.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2021
    Article
  14. Testing measurement properties of two EQ-5D youth versions and KIDSCREEN-10 in China.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2021
    Article
  15. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Rachel Lee-Yin TanHealth Systems and Behavioural Sciences Domain, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Block MD1, 12 Science Drive 2, Singapore, 117549, Singapore.ORCID 0000-0002-4610-1195
Zhihao YangGuizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China.ORCID 0000-0001-5468-0847
Ataru IgarashiDepartment of Drug Policy and Management, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.ORCID 0000-0001-6307-6916
Michael HerdmanOffice of Health Economics, 105 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6QT, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8189-5357
Nan LuoHealth Systems and Behavioural Sciences Domain, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Block MD1, 12 Science Drive 2, Singapore, 117549, Singapore. ephln@nus.edu.sg.ORCID 0000-0001-7980-6979

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis study aimed to understand how respondents from three Asian countries interpret and perceive the EuroQol Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS).

methodData were from a project that aimed to examine the cultural appropriateness of EQ-5D in Asia. Members of the general public from China, Japan, and Singapore were interviewed one-to-one in their preferred languages. Open-ended questions (e.g. What does "best imaginable health" mean to you?) were used to elicit participants' interpretation of the labels of EQ-VAS. How the scale could be improved was also probed. Thematic and content analyses were performed separately for each country before pooling for comparison.

resultsSixty Chinese, 24 Japanese, and 60 Singaporeans were interviewed. Interpretations of the label "Best Imaginable Health" varied among the participants. Interestingly, some participants indicated that "Best Imaginable Health" is unachievable. Interpretations for "Worst Imaginable Health" also varied, with participants referring primarily to one of three themes, namely, "death," "disease," and "disability." There were different opinions as to what changes in health would correspond to a 5- to 10-point change on the EQ-VAS. While participants opined that EQ-VAS is easy to understand, some criticized it for being too granular and that scale labels are open to interpretation. Findings from the three countries were similar.

conclusionIt appears that interpretations of the EQ-VAS vary across Asian respondents. Future studies should investigate whether the variations are associated with any respondent characteristics and whether the EQ-VAS could be modified to achieve better respondent acceptance.

Indexed as

Health StatusQuality of LifeHumansPain MeasurementSurveys and QuestionnairesVisual Analog Scale

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.