QUALITY-OF-LIFE MEASUREMENT DURING ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUG-THERAPY OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

The strategy for measuring quality of life and the choice of a rating scale should follow a rational scheme aimed at capturing the key compo nents of quality of life of a specified clinical population, This is a chieved through defining the purpose of the study, identifying the cli nical population and its needs, developing a situation-specific qualit y of life model, and choosing a battery of psychometrically sound and user-friendly rating scales based on the model, Patients' self-reports and subjective feelings should be central to quality of life measurem ent, which should also monitor symptom severity, drug side effects, an d psychosocial adjustment, This article describes the application of t hese principles in the context of antipsychotic drug therapy of schizo phrenia and identifies potential problems that may a rise from the con ceptual, psychometric, clinical, and other feasibility issues, The hig hly subjective nature of the disorder, together with the poor insight, lack of motivation, and neurocognitive deficits of those who are affl icted, poses special difficulties for obtaining and interpreting patie nts' quality of life appraisals in schizophrenia.