Putting the Q into quality of life; the identification of subjective constructions of health-related quality of life using Q methodology

Paul H. D. Stenner, Deborah Cooper and Suzanne M. Skevington

Social Science & Medicine, 2003, vol. 57, issue 11, 2161-2172

Abstract: Health related quality of life (HRQOL) is presented as a largely subjective construct of increasing importance in health discourse and practice. Key difficulties with the assessment and measurement of quality of life (QOL) are discussed. A Q methodological investigation of subjective constructions of health-related QOL is then reported using importance items derived from studies of the WHOQOL. Eight factors emerged from a factor analysis of the Q sorts of 90 healthy participants, each corresponding to a distinct construction of the meaning and relevance of QOL. The factors are interpreted and discussed under the following headings: 'Happy families, 'Stand on my own two feet', 'Emotional independence', 'Just do it!', 'Life as a positive challenge', 'In God we trust', 'Staying healthy enough to bring home the bacon' and 'You can't choose your family'. This diversity of views has implications for QOL testing.

Keywords: Quality; of; life; Health; WHOQOL; Q; methodology; Qualitative (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2003
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(03)00070-4
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:57:y:2003:i:11:p:2161-2172

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
http://www.elsevier. ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

Access Statistics for this article

Social Science & Medicine is currently edited by Ichiro (I.) Kawachi and S.V. (S.V.) Subramanian

More articles in Social Science & Medicine from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().