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Quality Of Life

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Last Update: March 27, 2023.

Definition/Introduction

Quality of life (QoL) is a concept which aims to capture the well-being, whether of a population or individual, regarding both positive and negative elements within the entirety of their existence at a specific point in time. For example, common facets of QoL include personal health (physical, mental, and spiritual), relationships, education status, work environment, social status, wealth, a sense of security and safety, freedom, autonomy in decision-making, social-belonging and their physical surroundings.

The World Health Organization explains QoL as a subjective evaluation of one's perception of their reality relative to their goals as observed through the lens of their culture and value system. The Quality of Life Research Unit at the University of Toronto defines QoL as how much a person can enjoy the valued possibilities of their lives. It is essential to recognize the difference between QoL and other somewhat similar concepts which might get easily confused in the literature, such as the standard of living and health-related quality of life. QoL differs from the former in that standard of living is largely based on economic status and income.

QoL differs from the public health measure health-related quality of life in that the latter is a measure that explores the connection between health and QoL. As there has been recognized difficulty with arriving at a universally accepted definition and measurement, recent studies have attempted to re-frame QoL into separate domains. One example of this re-framing is the "engaged theory," which takes QoL and divides it into four main domains: economics, culture, politics, and ecology.[1][2][3][4]

Issues of Concern

As alluded to in the previous section, the primary concern with the concept of QoL is a lack of a uniform definition. Compared to measures that are financial or can be otherwise measured quantitatively, such as gross domestic product, QoL remains elusive in an exact means of measurement across world cultures, regions, and demographics. There remains a push by many academic circles to break QoL into smaller components for more accurate and meaningful evaluation. One example is dividing the concept into domains (engaged theory), while the other approach divides QoL into the ideas of personal well-being and life evaluation. This divide remains a widely debated topic in the literature.[5][2][6]

Clinical Significance

The concept of quality of life remains relevant to all clinical settings. It is of paramount importance in some fields of medicine, such as hospice and palliative care, where the aggressive pursuit of a cure is set aside to instead satisfy patient goals and maximize the patient's quality of life. It is important to clarify that studies show variability across individuals regarding how disease processes, symptoms, prognosis, and palliative treatments impact the quality of life. It is therefore worth emphasizing that assessing QoL through a limited definition or applying a particular model to all patients would be an error as the literature stands. While there is no shortage of textbook definitions, perhaps the most accurate meaning of QoL is the definition the patient provides when sitting across from their clinician.[7][8][9][10]

Nursing, Allied Health, and Interprofessional Team Interventions

All interprofessional healthcare team members, including clinicians, mid-level practitioners, specialists, nurses, pharmacists, mental health professionals, therapists, and other ancillary healthcare personnel, need to recognize the concept of quality of life. It is crucial to remember that the team is treating a person, not just a set of lab values or pathology, and treatment goals need to keep the patient's QOL in mind and focus toward that outcome in conjunction with addressing medical needs. [Level 5]

Review Questions

References

1.
Oechsle K. Palliative Care in Patients with Hematological Malignancies. Oncol Res Treat. 2019;42(1-2):25-30. [PubMed: 30537761]
2.
McDonald T, Shaw D. Benchmarking life quality support interventions in long-term care using the Long-Term Care Quality of Life scale. Nurs Health Sci. 2019 Jun;21(2):239-244. [PubMed: 30536944]
3.
Kasvis P, Vigano M, Vigano A. Health-related quality of life across cancer cachexia stages. Ann Palliat Med. 2019 Jan;8(1):33-42. [PubMed: 30525763]
4.
Barofsky I. Can quality or quality-of-life be defined? Qual Life Res. 2012 May;21(4):625-31. [PubMed: 21725867]
5.
Folker AP, Hegelund ER, Mortensen EL, Wimmelmann CL, Flensborg-Madsen T. The association between life satisfaction, vitality, self-rated health, and risk of cancer. Qual Life Res. 2019 Apr;28(4):947-954. [PubMed: 30536220]
6.
Singh S, Kumar S, Sarkar S, Balhara YPS. Quality of Life and its Relationship with Perceived Stigma among Opioid Use Disorder Patients: An Exploratory Study. Indian J Psychol Med. 2018 Nov-Dec;40(6):556-561. [PMC free article: PMC6241192] [PubMed: 30533952]
7.
Boggatz T. Quality of life in old age - a concept analysis. Int J Older People Nurs. 2016 Mar;11(1):55-69. [PubMed: 26118350]
8.
Munce SEP, Perrier L, Shin S, Adhihetty C, Pitzul K, Nelson MLA, Bayley MT. Strategies to improve the quality of life of persons post-stroke: protocol of a systematic review. Syst Rev. 2017 Sep 07;6(1):184. [PMC free article: PMC5590115] [PubMed: 28882175]
9.
MacIver J, Wentlandt K, Ross HJ. Measuring quality of life in advanced heart failure. Curr Opin Support Palliat Care. 2017 Mar;11(1):12-16. [PubMed: 27926542]
10.
Rapoport A, Weingarten K. Improving quality of life in hospitalized children. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2014 Aug;61(4):749-60. [PubMed: 25084722]

Disclosure: Dac Teoli declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Abhishek Bhardwaj declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

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Bookshelf ID: NBK536962PMID: 30725647

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