Quantitative issues in health-related quality of life assessment

Abstract

The current interest in incorporating psychosocial outcomes into health care research raises a number of conceptual and methodological issues regarding the assessment of health-related quality of life. This paper offers an overview of some of the principal factors to consider in choosing or developing a quality of life measure, including: (a) the bandwidth-fidelity problem; (b) generic versus disease-specific focus; (C) level of data aggregation; (d) interview versus questionnaire; (e) question time-frame; (f) response scales; (g) psychometric properties; and (h) feasibility. While the discussion focuses on quantitative approaches to quality of life assessment, it is suggested that a mixture of quantitative and qualitative strategies may be most fruitful.