OPINION POLLING AND DECISION-MAKING - A CRITICAL-APPRAISAL OF QUALITY-OF-LIFE ASSESSMENT

The relationship between quality of life (QOL) assessments and decisio n making, in relation to the delivery of health services, is subjected to critical appraisal. Three levels of decision making in the health care system are taken into account in the analysis. Criticisms of opin ion polling provide the basis for the appraisal. Examples of criticism s considered are: Might the use of QOL information be manipulative? Co uld the interviews or questionnaires used to obtain QOL data influence personal opinions? Are the methods used sometimes defective and/or su perficial? Will QOL information always be used in decision making in w ays that are ascertainable and justifiable? It is concluded that the t ime has come for the main focus of critical appraisal in QOL research to shift, from an emphasis on evaluation of the quality of methods use d for assessments of QOL, toward an emphasis on the practical usefulne ss of QOL data.