REVIEW

Measuring quality of life

Christine Eiser¹, Meriel Jenney²

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
² Children’s Hospital for Wales, Cardiff, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Meriel Jenney
Children’s Hospital for Wales, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XW, UK; meriel.jenney{at}cardiffandvale.wales.nhs.uk

Progress in the assessment of quality of life (QoL) measures for children and their value in clinical practice are considered. The most parsimonious approach to assessment includes modular assessment of generic and disease-specific QoL. Differences occur between child and parent proxy ratings, so it is recommended that ratings from multiple observers are made where possible. QoL measures may be of value in clinical practice, but the inadequate availability of the resources necessary to analyse results and provide the required support is a major barrier. Although the assessment of QoL in children remains challenging, its value is increasingly recognised by both researchers and clinicians.

Keywords: children; quality of life; proxy ratings

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

A brief digest of the April issue
Arch. Dis. Child. 2007 92: e4. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Karande, S., Bhosrekar, K., Kulkarni, M., Thakker, A. (2009). Health-related Quality of Life of Children with Newly Diagnosed Specific Learning Disability. J Trop Pediatr 55: 160-169 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Hendriksen, J. G. M., Poysky, J. T., Schrans, D. G. M., Schouten, E. G. W., Aldenkamp, A. P., Vles, J. S. H. (2009). Psychosocial Adjustment in Males with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Psychometric Properties and Clinical Utility of a Parent-report Questionnaire. J Pediatr Psychol 34: 69-78 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Palermo, T. M., Long, A. C., Lewandowski, A. S., Drotar, D., Quittner, A. L., Walker, L. S. (2008). Evidence-based Assessment of Health-related Quality of Life and Functional Impairment in Pediatric Psychology. J Pediatr Psychol 33: 983-996 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Schonbucher, V. B., Weber, D. M., Landolt, M. A. (2008). Psychosocial Adjustment, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Psychosexual Development of Boys with Hypospadias: A Systematic Review. J Pediatr Psychol 33: 520-535 [Abstract] [Full Text]