WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF)
Description: The WHOQOL-BREF is an outcome tool to assess quality of life.
Format: 26 items in total : 24 items covering 4 domains of QoL (physical health, psychological health, social relationships, & environment) and 2 individual items on general health and overall QoL.
Scoring: 26 items rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 to 5. Mean scores for each of the 4 domains of QoL (raw scores) are calculated using standardized equations. Domain scores are transformed to a score between 0 (lower QoL) to 100 (higher QoL). The 2 individual items are scored individually.
Administration and Burden: Self-administered. Approximately 10-15 minutes.
Psychometrics for SCI: Acceptable internal consistency (α=.75 for physical health domain, α=.74 for psychological health domain, α=.78 for environment domain) with the exception of the social relationships domain (α=.54) [1]. Discriminant validity is satisfactory (ρ<0.001 for the overall QOL facet, the general health facet, the physical health domain, the psychological health domain, the social relationships domain, ρ=0.022 for the environment domain) [1]. The correlation of all facets was the highest with the domain to which they were assigned [1]. No floor or ceiling effects [1].
Language(s): English. Available in 19 langages.
QoL Concept: The WHOQOL-BREF is a measure of quality of life, which corresponds to boxes C (achievements), & E (subjective evaluations and reactions) of Dijker's Model.
Permissions/Where to Obtain: For further information about the WHOQOL-BREF and to obtain permission to use this questionnaire, send an email to WHOQOL@who.int.
References:
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Jang Y, Hsieh CL, Wang YH, Wu YH. A validity study of the WHOQOL-BREF assessment in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2004;85(11):1890-5.
CLICK ON THE LISTED SECONDARY HEALTH CONDITIONS ON THE LEFT TO READ HOW THE WHOQOL-BREF HAS BEEN USED WITH A PARTICULAR CONDITION
Bladder Dysfunction SCI Studies:
- Luo DY, Ding MF, He CQ, Zhang HC, Dai Y, Yang Y, et al. Bladder management of patients with spinal cord injuries sustained in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Kaohsiung J Medical Sciences 2012;28(11):613-18.
Sensitivity to Impact: Luo et al. (2012) conducted a cross-sectional survey to assess the relationship between bladder management methods, symptomatic urinary tract infection and QoL. 180 patients with SCI took part in this study. QoL was measured with the WHOQOL-BREF. Results showed that patients who reported normal voiding demonstrated the highest scores (p< .05) in all domains of the WHOQOL-BREF compared to other bladder management groups.
Suggestions for Use: The WHOQOL-BREF has been validated as a general measure of QoL in SCI populations; it has an acceptable internal consistency with the exception of the social relationships domain and its discriminant validity is satisfactory (Jang et al. 2004). The WHOQOL has displayed significant associations with bladder function, for example, bladder management techniques were significantly associated with WHOQOL-BREF scores, such that patients who reported normal voiding demonstrated the highest QoL scores related to physical health, psychological health, and social relationships (p< .05) (Luo et al. 2012).
Additional references:
- Jang Y, Hsieh CL, Wang YH, Wu YH. A validity study of the WHOQOL-BREF assessment in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2004;85(11):1890-5.
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