Instruments to measure QoL

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Hello Everybody,

Number of instruments have been designed to measure QoL in a variety of settings. These instruments reflect the two philosophical approaches to measuring QoL: assessing it as a single, complete entity, or selecting individual components for measurement.

Consequently, some authors describe instruments which measure only one of these dimensions, such as functional disability, as QoL measures.

Most QoL measures are generic rather than disease specific and can be divided into two categories: those which provide a single, global score of well-being (health indices) and those designed to measure a number of dimensions of health status (health profiles).

As such, hundreds of validated QoL questionnaires have been developed to suit the needs of various illnesses. QoL questionnaires should meet certain quality criteria, most importantly with regard to their reliability and validity. The questionnaires can be generalized into two categories:

(i) Generic instruments, which include general health profiles (e.g. SF-36, Short-Form with 36 questions) and

(ii) Disease or Disorder specific instruments, which focus on problems associated with individual diseases, patient groups or areas of function. (e.g. the LC -13 Lung Cancer module from the EORTC

Quality of Life questionnaire library, or the HADS Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale).

Both types are multifactorial constructs and assess the individual's perception of physical, mental and social functioning.

Two of the most widely used generic QoL questionnaires are the EuroQoL-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) and the ShortForm-12 (SF-12) questionnaire from QualiMetrics.

Dr. Smita