Outcomes Research
John C Watkinson, Raymond W Clarke, Louise Jayne Clark, Adam J Donne, R James A England, Hisham M Mehanna, Gerald William McGarry, Sean Carrie in Basic Sciences Endocrine Surgery Rhinology, 2018
Patient-based outcome measures are, in general, questionnaires that ask patients about their perception of their health. Usually these instruments are made up of a number of items or questions. These items are linked in a number of domains or dimensions. A domain refers to an area of behaviour or experience, such as mobility, self-care, depression, pain, social functioning and general well-being. Many questionnaires focus on physical function, such as the patient’s ability to walk, climb stairs, wash and dress themselves. Others ask about the impact of health on various areas of an individual’s life, such as ability to socialize with members of their family and friends. These are aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Overall quality of life is influenced by many factors other than health, such as social, financial and physical factors. Patient-based outcome measures assess only one aspect of quality of life and are not measures of overall quality of life.
Selection of Endpoints
Susan Halabi, Stefan Michiels in Textbook of Clinical Trials in Oncology, 2019
Quality of life refers to overall enjoyment of life as affected by social, environmental, mental, and physical factors [19]. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) focuses on an individual's well-being related to the state of health. In health studies, terms quality of life and HRQOL are used interchangeably [20]. In cancer research, HRQOL is the effect of cancer and treatment on the well-being of an individual patient [19,20]. Clinical trials with HRQOL endpoints measure aspects of an individual's sense of well-being and ability to perform various activities [21]. These endpoints may include disease symptoms, adverse events from treatment, functional status, and general perceptions of well-being and life satisfaction [22]. Drugs that may improve HRQOL may provide substantial benefits because many current cancer treatments have negative adverse events.
The Little Deaths
Michael W. Ross in HIV/AIDS and Sexuality, 2012
The measurement of quality of life has been traditionally based on scales which have been biased toward functioning as measured by the physician or have concentrated on physical function (Wu & Rubin, 1992). While there have been major criticisms of the issues of measurement of quality of life covered elsewhere (Tindall), it is worth noting that in the case of HIV disease the scales appear, with one or two exceptions, to be based on lifestyles and concerns more typical of the heterosexual, married and older cancer patient than the young and sexually active. In such situations, the definition of quality of life is “culturally biassed.” Specific attributes of a lifestyle, including socializing patterns, sexual contact patterns, and cultural or subcultural patterns, rather than life (such as day to day domestic and occupational functioning) may be identified as being important. Indeed, it may be that the definitions which emerge from qualitative data such as are presented here may be of greater relevance in determining the content and positioning of quality of life. Respondent 10 indicates that:My life includes much more than what’s on this list [referring to Quality of Life questionnaire].Interviewer: Like what, spell it out.Respondent 10: Well, sex, dance parties, doing drugs, um, intellectual stimulation and those kind of things.
Psychosocial determinants associated with quality of life in people with usher syndrome. A scoping review
Published in Disability and Rehabilitation, 2020
Marine Arcous, Olivier Putois, Sophie Dalle-Nazébi, Sylvain Kerbourch, Anaelle Cariou, Ines Ben Aissa, Sandrine Marlin, Rémy Potier
Quality of life refers to satisfaction in life and encompasses everything from physical and psychological health to education, employment, wealth, security, family, relationships, freedom, religious or spiritual beliefs, and environment. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines quality of life as “an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns. It is a broad-ranging concept affected in a complex way by the person’s physical health, psychological state, personal beliefs, social relationships and their relationship to salient features of their environment” [14,p.3]. Quality of life thus encompasses both physical and psychosocial determinants. It also refers to the capacity to empower oneself in a given situation, such as being a prosocial agent. Within the context of a disability, it involves the capability to decide for oneself regarding what one wants to do in life, either alone or through a search for appropriate outside help; based on this perspective, empowerment is a matter of self-perception and self-esteem.
Social environment and quality of life among older people with diabetes and multiple chronic illnesses in New Zealand: Intermediary effects of psychosocial support and constraints
Published in Disability and Rehabilitation, 2022
Polly Yeung, Christina Severinsen, Gretchen Good, Kieran O’Donoghue
The aforementioned discussions point to the need to go beyond illnesses as the basis of wellbeing in older age and to include the role of supportive environments to enhance wellbeing [61]. In doing so, health and wellbeing may be defined as “the ability to adapt to one’s environment” (p. 781) [62] to have “optimal personal fitness for full, fruitful creative living” (p. 81) [63] as desired by the individual. To achieve this, it is important to focus on capabilities that older people have reasons to value and that allow them to obtain purpose in life and meaningful participation [30,64,65]. Much of the epidemiologic studies of diabetes have shown socio-economic, psychosocial and environmental factors as predictors of clinical outcomes of diabetes prevalence, incidence, or control [66,67] and its relationship to depressive symptoms [37]. However, few studies have assessed the impact of multiple determinants of quality of life among older people with diabetes and multimorbidity. Quality of life is a multidimensional, subjective appraisal of an individual’s existing life circumstances and satisfaction relating to many areas of a person’s wellbeing. This includes physical, mental, social, cultural and spiritual dimensions, rather than the sole focus on illnesses and disability [4,68,69]. By including quality of life as an outcome measure, it can help obtain a complete picture of that individual through the interactions of not just functioning but other contextual factors representing the various facets of a person’s life quality [70,71].
Impact of Group Art Therapy on the Quality of Life for Acquired Brain Injury Survivors
Published in Art Therapy, 2018
Martine Guay
Quality of life generally refers to “subjective well-being and life satisfaction” and “includes mental and physical health, material well-being, interpersonal relationships within and outside the family, work and other activities in the community, personal development and fulfillment, and active recreation” (Niemi, Laaksonen, Kotila, & Waltimo, 1988, p. 1101). Quality of life for ABI survivors includes participation in life situations such as cooking meals, managing a budget, conversing with others, making choices and decisions, and being able to accept their disabilities, such as by using their nondominant hand as an alternative (Patterson et al., 1994). The emotional and physical changes brought about by ABI challenge the individual’s prior skills. Furthermore, caregivers must be able to provide hope and dignity while helping people express themselves, assess their abilities, and reframe former mindsets that no longer apply.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Mental Health
- Quality of Life
- Stress
- Health
- Safety
- Health Care
- Quality of Life
- Happiness
- Joy
- Affection
- Sadness