QUALITY-OF-LIFE - WHAT IS IT AND CAN IT BE MEASURED

The characteristics of quality of life scales should be considered in order to understand the extent to which they differ from disease-speci fic instruments, such as the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale, or ge neral health scales, such as the Sickness Impact Profile. A good quali ty of life scale assesses dimensions of everyday life that are missed by more narrowly designed, health-specific scales. To be valid, howeve r, quality of life scales should: contain a broad range of domains rel evant to the condition or treatment under study; assess recent time pe riods; be sensitive enough to monitor expected changes; contain a suff icient range to include patient conditions; contain both positive and negative items; and contain selective, subjective evaluations. It is i mportant also to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of popular qual ity of life measures, such as the Quality of Life Index, the Quality o f Well-Being Scale, EuroQol and SF-36. (C) 1998 Churchill Livingstone.