Subjective Quality of Life Measures – General Principles and Concepts

Lam, C. L. K.

doi:10.1007/978-0-387-78665-0_21

C. L. K. Lam

1965 Accesses
4 Citations
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Abstract:

Subjective quality of life (QOL) is becoming a standard health outcome measure especially for people with multiple, chronic, functional, psychological, or incurable illnesses. A good instrument is the pre-requisite of any measurement, which is in the form a questionnaire for QOL. This chapter reviews the concepts, principles, applications, scoring methods and selection criteria of subjective QOL measures to enable users to choose the most appropriate instruments for their purposes.

Quality of life (QOL) is a logical outcome measure of the effectiveness of modern health care much of which aims at relieving suffering and restoring normal living. The essential concepts of QOL measures are subjectivity, multi-dimensionality and well-being. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) focuses on dimensions that are modifiable by health. General health perception, psychological well-being and functioning are essential dimensions of HRQOL while symptoms and vitality are important causative variables.

Quality of life is a latent variable that cannot be directly measured. It needs to be converted to indicators of its component dimensions and domains to be quantified. To serve the purpose, the indicators must be valid, important, representative and adequate. A QOL measure presents the indicators as items that can be rated on response scales, which are then presented as a profile domain scores or a composite index of quality of life.

Hundreds of QOL measures have been developed mostly for the assessment of HRQOL. Generic measures that are applicable to people with different health status are more suitable for population and comparative studies. Disease specific measures tend to have high sensitivity and are best used for evaluative purposes. Preference-based measures of health (PBMH) convert a multidimensional QOL state to a fractional index for the calculation of quality adjusted life years (QALYs) and cost-effectiveness. A critical appraisal of the nature and psychometric properties of a QOL measure can assure that it will meet the needs of the user.

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Abbreviations

COOP/WONCA Charts:: The Dartmouth Corporation Functional Health Assessment Charts/World Organization of Family Doctors
EQ-5D:: European Quality of Life-5 Dimension
HRQOL:: Health-related quality of life
HUI-3:: Health Utilities Index-Mark 3
ICC:: intra-class correlation
MCID:: minimal clinically important difference
MID:: minimally important difference
PBMH:: preference-based measures of health
PRO:: patient reported outcome
QALYs:: quality adjusted life years
QOL:: quality of life
RS:: rating scale
SD:: standard deviation
SEM:: standard error of measurement
SF-12:: The Medical Outcomes Study 12-item Short-form Health Survey
SF-36:: The Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-form Health Survey
SG:: standard gamble
SIP:: sickness impact profile
SRM:: standardized response mean
TTO:: time trade-off
VAS:: visual analogue scale
WHOQOL:: World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument

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C. L. K. Lam
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Dept. Nutrition and Dietetics Nutritional Sciences Research Division School of Biomedical & Health Sciences, King's College London, Franklin‐Wilkins Building 150 Stamford Street, SE1 9NH, London, UK
Victor R. Preedy (Prof.) (Prof.)
Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Health Science Center 1295 N. Martin, P.O. Box 245155, 85724-5155, Tucson, AZ
Ronald R. Watson (Prof.) (Prof.)

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Lam, C.L.K. (2010). Subjective Quality of Life Measures – General Principles and Concepts. In: Preedy, V.R., Watson, R.R. (eds) Handbook of Disease Burdens and Quality of Life Measures. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78665-0_21

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78665-0_21
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