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The Quality of Life Profiles and Other Instruments

 
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The following instruments were developed by or in association with the Quality of Life Research Unit and the people working within it.

We have recently undertaken a rewriting of the background information and instruction manuals to accompany the instruments.

To order any of the instruments, visit the Publications page, complete the Order Form and follow the instructions for payment.

For more information about the overall concepts, please see QOL Model. For more information about the development of the specific instruments, visit the relevant project page.

Adolescents

The Quality of Life Profile–Adolescents' Version was developed and validated in the spring of 1995 in a joint project involving the Centre for Health Promotion and the School of Nursing, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario.

Quality of life issues were first identified through direct dialogue with adolescents. Based on these focus groups and the literature on adolescent concerns, an instrument was developed that asks for ratings of 54 items, or aspects of life, for level of importance and level of satisfaction. An additional 9 items are rated for control and for opportunities.

Results of the research and the statistical psychometrics regarding the instrument are reported in:

Raphael, D., Rukholm, E., Brown, I., Hill-Bailey, P., & Donato, E. (1996). The quality of life profile—Adolescent version: Background, description, and initial validation. Journal of Adolescent Health, 19(5), 366-375.

(a reprint is available from our publications page).

more info about the project >>

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Adults (generic)

The Quality of Life Profile–Adult Version is based upon the Centre for Health Promotion Quality of Life Model and measures importance and satisfaction of 54 aspects of life. It also asks for ratings of control and opportunities.

The adult version of the Quality of Life Profile was initially developed with a small sample of participants (n=29). Results of this study were not published in a peer-reviewed journal, but they are available on this site (see below).

The instrument was further validated in a 1999 study of 219 gay men living with HIV/AIDS conducted at Ryerson University. The results of this study were published in:

Raphael, D., Waalen, J., & Karbanow, A. (2001) Factor Analytic Properties of the Quality of Life Profile: Examination of the nine subdomain Quality of Life model. Psychological Reports, 88, 265-276.

Although this study was for a specific population, the sample size is considered large enough, and the reliabilities strong enough, to suggest that the instrument is valid in the general population, although further testing is required.

An interactive version of the instrument can be viewed on-line. This sample of the profile does not include the 18 questions relating to Control and Opportunities.

further information about the initial pilot testing >>

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Adults with Developmental Disabilities:
Instrument Package (Long and Short Versions)

Both of these instrument packages contain three tools for measuring the quality of life of people with developmental disabilities. The three instruments reflect the perspectives of the individual, a person (or persons) who knows the individual well, and a trained assessor.

The Quality of Life Instrument Package for Adults with Developmental Disabilities is available in 2 versions:

    1. Full Version. Quality of Life is rated for 54 items. This version is generally recommended when the focus is the evaluation of individual lives.

    2. Short Version. Quality of Life is rated for 27 of the items found in the full version. The short version is generally recommended for program or overall population evaluation.

Development of the instrument and model were first reported in:

Raphael, D., Brown, I., Renwick, R., & Rootman, I. (1996). Assessing the quality of life of persons with developmental disabilities: Description of a new model, measuring instruments, and initial findings. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 43(1), 25-42.

The package was updated in 2011 and now includes a manual for completing the questionnaires, detailed instructions for scoring, and guidelines for interpreting the scores.

 

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Quality of Life Measure for Children with Long Term Disabilities (Parents Perspective)

This instrument was developed through the Children's Quality of Life research project, completed in 2004. Although the measure follows the conceptual model of Being, Belonging, and Becoming, it takes a somewhat different approach in presenting the results for a measure of quality of life.

Parents of children with a long-term developmental delay or disability are asked to rate 48 items for importance, satisfation, and the degree to which they apply to their child's life.

These 3 scales (Applies, Importance, and Satisfaction) are examined in context of the 3 domains of Being, Belonging, and Becoming, and for the individual's life overall.

The Childrens Quality of Life Measure is still in development and the data gathered in the project is still being researched. To date, the data gathered indicate that Satisfaction is the most psychometrically sound of the scales. The Applies ratings are a 'checklist' of the items' relevance to the individual's quality of life and the Importance ratings provide a contrast to the level of satisfaction.

For a description of the development of the instrument, see:

Renwick, R., Fudge Schormans, A., & Zekovic, B. (2003) Quality of Life: A new conceptual framework for children with disabilities. Journal on Developmental Disabilities, 10, 107-114.

The article may also be found in the Journal's section of the Ontario Association on Developmental Disabilities website: www.oadd.org

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People with a Physical and Sensory Disabilities

The items in both the long and short versions were developed on the basis of interviews and in-depth critical review of the instrument by people with physical and sensory disabilities.

The instruments can be used for interviews or self-administered. They are suitable for people aged 18 to 64 years. The long version consists of 102 items with rating scales and takes about 30-40 minutes to complete. The shorter version consists of 54 items with rating scales and takes about 15 minutes to complete.

Both scales are psychometrically sound. The

(see Renwick, R., Nourhaghighi, N., Manns, P.J., Laliberte Rudman, D., Quality of Life for people with physical disabilities: A new instrument. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 26(4), 2003.)

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Persons with Schizophrenia

The Quality of Life Measure for Persons with Schizophrenia (QOLM-S) is a 59 item instrument designed to assess perceived quality of life for people with schizophrenia living in the community. Like most of the Quality of Life instruments it may either be self-administered or completed in an interview context.

Development and validation of the instrument were reported in:

Laliberte-Rudman, D., Hoffman, L., Scott, E., & Renwick, R. (2004) Quality of Life for Individuals with Schizophrenia: Validating an assessment that addresses client concerns and occupational issues. OTJR: Occupation, Participation, and Health 24(1), 13-21.

As the paper points out, the instrument needs further testing before it can be used as an evaluative assessment, but initial validation supports it use as a descriptive tool.

Although the instrument was developed for and with persons with schizophrenia, the results of initial testing of the psychometric properties are also promising for its application to the quality of life of individuals living with other mental health illnesses or conditions.

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Seniors (Long, Short, and Brief Versions)

The long version of the instrument consists of 111 items; 12 items in each of the first six sub-domains, and 13 in the last three. (For a description of domains and sub-domains, see QOL Model or the Seniors project page.) The respondent provides ratings for each item for both Importance and Satisfaction and a Quality of Life Score is calculated from the ratings.

The Short Version of the instrument has 54 items and the Brief Version has 27 items. These versions were developed to address the need for shorter interview durations. They were tested and found to be statistically reliable, with results reported in:

Raphael, D., Smith, T., Brown, I., & Renwick, R. (1995). Development and properties of the short and brief versions of the Quality of Life Profile: Seniors Version. International Journal of Health Sciences 6, 161–168.

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Translations

Some of our instruments have been translated into other languages and, upon occasion, adapted to better address cultural issues specific to a population.

We have developed a standard process and agreement for these translations and we review copies of back translations provided to us. The Quality of Life Research Unit is not, however, accountable for the accuracy of the translation, nor have members of the Quality of Life research team been involved in the translation or modifications of any of the instruments.

If you are interested in any of the tranlated versions below, or in developing a translated version for your own research or program, please contact us at: quality.oflife@utoronto.ca

  • Adults Generic: Portuguese, German
  • Seniors Brief: Italian
  • PWDD (long and short): French
  • Adolescents: Korean


Other Instruments

Social Support Inventory for People who are HIV positive or have AIDS

This inventory was developed to assess the instrumental, informational, and emotional support received by people who are living with HIV/AIDS.

Results of initial testing of the instrument and a description of its development can be found in:

Renwick, R., Halpen, T., Rudman, D., and Friedland, J. (1999) Description and Validation of a Measure of Received Suppport Specific to HIV. Psychological Reports, 84, 663-673.

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Life Satisfaction Index for Adolescents with Neuromuscular Disorders

The Life Satisfaction Index–Adolescents was developed to examine one aspect of quality of life of adolescents living with a neurmuscular disorder.

Validation of the instrument was reported in:

Reid, D.T. & Renwick, R. (1994). Preliminary validation of a new instrument to measure life satisfaction in adolescents with neuromuscular disorders. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 17(2), 184-188.

Life Satisfaction Index for Parents of Adolescents with Neuromuscular Disorders

A report on the development and validation of this instrument can be found in:

Renwick, R., & Reid, D.T. (1992). Life satisfaction of parents of adolescents with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Validation of a new instrument. The Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 12(5), 296-311.

 

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Older Adult Health Status And Activities Profile

This profile was developed by the former North York Public Health Department and the Centre for Health Promotion.

 

For an example of a quality of life profile, visit:

Quality of Life Research Unit
Department of Occupational Therapy
University of Toronto
160-500 University Ave
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 1V7