Individual Expectations and Priorities (Box D)

Individual Expectations and Priorities (Box D) 2018-07-25T14:38:27-04:00

Individual Expectations and Priorities

Each person has particular needs, desires, priorities, and standards.  Within this conceptualization, quality of life (QoL) may be expressed in terms of the discrepancy between an individual’s actual status and what he/she desires or expects.

Domain Importances: A domain approach to evaluating QoL uses measures that ask for separate judgments of satisfaction, with a number of enumerated life domains (physical health, family relations, job, mental health, etc.), which are then summed into a total score.

Standards and Values: Standards and/or values are internal.  The use of importance ratings allows maximum individualization of the domain, which is in line with the notion that QoL as Well-Being should reflect the person’s viewpoint, not that of the investigator or society.

Key References:

Dijkers MP. Individualization in quality of life measurement: Instruments and approaches. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2003;84:S3-S14.

Dijkers MP. Quality of life of individuals with spinal cord injury: A review of conceptualization, measurement, and research findigs. J Rehabil Res Dev 2005;42:87-11.