HRQL and Social Support

Question 1

Factors affecting HRQL

Answer 1

Question 2

• Subjective and objective evaluations of:
• Overall “????” of one’s life
• Includes a number of…
• Subjective Evaluations
• Objective Evaluations

Answer 2

• Subjective and objective evaluations of:
• Overall “goodness” of one’s life
• Includes a number of domains
• Subjective Evaluations
• Reflect people’s perceptions of “goodness” or quality of their own lives
• Objective Evaluations
• Measures of various aspects of one’s life made by someone other than individual

Question 3

• Subcomponent of QOL**
• Reflects “goodness” of dimensions of life affected by health and health interventions
• General consensus on dimensions of HRQL:
  1. ???? function

2. ???? function
3. ???? function
4. ???? function
5. ???? status

Answer 3

• Subcomponent of QOL**
• Reflects “goodness” of dimensions of life affected by health and health interventions
• General consensus on dimensions of HRQL:
  1. PHYSICAL function
  Aerobic fitness, strength, ability to perform ADLs

2. COGNITIVE function
   Memory, attention, concentration, decision making
3. EMOTIONAL function
   Depression, anxiety, happiness, hope
4. SOCIAL function
   Ability to fulfill roles such as spouse, parent, etc.,
   involvement in community
5. HEALTH status
   Physical health, symptoms

Question 4

• Health not simply absence of disability and disease
• Biomedical definition of health
• Biopsychosocial definition:

Answer 4

• Health not simply absence of disability and disease
• Biomedical definition of health
• Focus on physical health
• Biopsychosocial definition:
• Health is conceptualized as positive state of physical, mental, and social well-being
• How can we enhance all three components?

Question 5

HRQL is important for 3 Reasons

Answer 5

1. Improvements in HRQL are an important benefit of exercise
2. Knowledge of a patient’s HRQL is important for prescribing exercise
3. Important index of treatment effectiveness

Question 6

Improvements in HRQL = Important Benefit of EXERCISE

• PA used as therapeutic modality for…
• Increase in health practitioners promoting…

By asking patients about the effects of exercise on HRQL, we can make better decisions about exercise prescription
* Do they enjoy…
* Exercise …

• HRQL = ???? for determining the effectiveness of an exercise intervention
• Studies include measures of…
• No longer sufficient to demonstrate
  intervention just…
• Must also demonstrate….
• Side-effects of treatments might be…

Answer 6

• PA used as therapeutic modality for chronic disease treatment and prevention
• Increase in health practitioners promoting PA to improve HRQL

By asking patients about the effects of exercise on HRQL, we can make better decisions
about exercise prescription

• Do they enjoy exercise? Do they feel better?
• Exercise preferences
• HRQL = IMPORTANT BENCHMARK for determining the
  effectiveness of an exercise intervention
• Studies include measures of HRQL
• No longer sufficient to demonstrate intervention just has positive physical benefits
• Must also demonstrate intervention does not have negative effect on HRQL
• Side-effects of treatments might be worse than symptoms of illness

Question 7

• Objective measures in HRQL:
  1.
  2.

Examples:
* Days confined to bed
* LOS – Length of Stay (hospital)
* Number of pain pills taken
* Measuring quality-adjusted life years (QALY)

QALY Objective:
* Assumes people with similar health problems and symptoms have same ????
* Does not account for how people feel…
* Assumes better health and reduced symptomatology lead to…

Answer 7

• Objective measures in HRQL:
  1. Made by someone other than patient
  2. Quantitative (numeric) in nature

Examples:
* Days confined to bed
* LOS – Length of Stay (hospital)
* Number of pain pills taken
* Measuring quality-adjusted life years (QALY)

Objective:
* Assumes people with similar health problems and symptoms have same HRQL
* Does not account for how people feel about their health and impact of their health on their lives (subjective)
* Assumes better health and reduced symptomatology lead to better HRQL

Question 8

Subjective Measures
* Assess individual perceptions of “goodness” of various domains that constitute HRQL

• Usually done through … of … that asks patients to either:
  1. Rate their level of … in one or more HRQL domains

2. Rate their …. with their functioning in one or more HRQL domains

Answer 8

• Assess individual perceptions of “goodness” of various domains that constitute HRQL
• Usually done through administration of a questionnaire that asks patients to either:

1. Rate their level of functioning in one or more HRQL domains
   - Emotional functioning “Over the past week, how happy have you felt?”
2. Rate their satisfaction with their functioning in one or more HRQL domains
   - Emotional satisfaction “Over the past week, how satisfied have you been
   with the amount of happiness that you have felt?”