Reliability and validity of using EQ-5D-5L among healthy and adolescents with major mental health disorders in Ethiopia

Background: The EQ-5D is a validated and widely used generic measure of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in both healthy individuals and those with various medical conditions. The objective of this study was to test whether EQ-5D-5L is reliable and valid for use among school sample adolescents and those with major mental health disorders in Ethiopia. Methods: Participants were recruited from ten sub-districts comprising the Butajira Rural Health Programme (BRHP) and Butajira major mental health disorders center. Data were collected using an Amharic (Ethiopia) EQ-5D-5L self-complete-paper and the questionnaire was administered 10 days after the first completion for test–retest procedures. Two-way mixed-effects models absolute intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to test reliability of the instrument while Kruskal–Wallis rank test with pairwise comparison was used to assess the known group validity of the instrument. Results: There were 501 (201 school sample and 300 adolescents with major mental health disorders) participants recruited and 497 were included in the sample for analysis. The ICC was high (ICC > 0.7, p < 0.001) for all EQ-5D-5L dimensions, EQ-5D-5L utility index and EQ-VAS scores. The findings revealed that the Amharic EQ-5D-5L has significant known group validity as shown by the difference in scores among various disease group (depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar) and experience of chronic illness. Conclusions: The results shows that the Amharic EQ-5D-5L is reliable and valid instrument for the measurement of HRQoL among adolescent populations in Ethiopia.