Objectives: China Health -Related Outcomes Measures (CHROME) was an initiative aimed at developing a system of preference -based health -related quality of life instruments for China. CHROME -cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a CVD-specific instrument with 14 items developed under this initiative. This study aimed to test the psychometric properties of CHROME-CVD. Methods: This validation study was conducted using cross-sectional questionnaire survey in China. Eligible patients with CVD were recruited and asked to complete the CHROME-CVD, the EQ-5D-5L, and a CVD-specific nonpreference-based healthrelated quality of life instrument selected according to the confirmed diagnosis of the patients. Item evaluation, internal consistency, measurement invariance, test -retest reliability, structural validity, and construct validity were tested using classic test theory. Item response theory was used to evaluate item -level performance. Results: A total of 444 patients with CVD (coronary artery disease, n = 276, heart failure, n = 104, angina, n = 33, and atrial fibrillation, n =16) from 6 provinces in China were enrolled for the validation. Exploratory factor analysis identified 4 factors: chest pain, other symptoms, physical health, and mental and social health. Cronbach 's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient were .0.8. A total of 20 of 26 (76.9%), and 90 of 95 (94.7%) predefined hypotheses were met for convergent and discriminant validities, respectively. No important difference was identified between subgroups of gender and residency. Response options of 10 items were found overlapped based on categorical response curves, which led to modification to 4 -level response options. Wording of 3 items were modified by referring wordings of reference instruments. Conclusion: The validation of the CHROME-CVD demonstrated generally good psychometric properties. Further validation on the modified CHROME-CVD is needed.

Background: Essential medicines are the backbone of healthcare and meet the priority healthcare needs of the population. However, approximately one-third of the global population does not have access to essential medicines. Although China formulated essential medicine policies in 2009, the progress of availability of essential medicines and regional variations remains unknown. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the availability of essential medicines, their progress, and regional distribution in China in the last decade. Methods: We searched eight databases from their inception to February 2022, relevant websites, and reference lists of included studies. Two reviewers selected studies, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias independently. Meta-analyses were performed to quantify the availability of essential medicines, their progress, and regional distribution. Results: Overall 36 cross-sectional studies conducted from 2009 to 2019 were included, with regional data for 14 provinces. The availability of essential medicines in 2015-2019 [28.1%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 26.4-29.9%] was similar to that in 2009-2014 (29.4%, 95% CI: 27.5-31.3%); lower in the Western region (19.8%, 95% CI: 18.1-21.5%) than Eastern (33.8%, 95% CI: 31.6-36.1%) and Central region (34.5%, 95% CI: 30.6-38.5%); very low for 8 Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) categories (57.1%), and low for 5 categories (35.7%) among all ATC groups. Conclusion: The availability of essential medicines in China is low compared with the World Health Organization goal, has not changed much in the last decade, is unequal across regions, and lacks data for half of provinces. For policy-making, the monitoring system of the availability of essential medicines is to be strengthened to enable long-term surveillance, especially in provinces where the data has been missing. Meanwhile, Joint efforts from all stakeholders are warranted to improve the availability of essential medicines in China toward the universal health coverage target. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=315267, identifier: PROSPERO CRD42022315267.