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Assessing the quality of life of the individual: the SEIQoL with a healthy and a gastroenterology unit population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Hannah M. McGee ,
Ciaran A. O'Boyle ,
Anne Hickey ,
Kevin O'Malley  and
C. R. B. Joyce
Hannah M. McGee*
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychology and Clinical Pharmacology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland and the University Psychiatric Policlinic, University of Bern, Switzerland
Ciaran A. O'Boyle
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychology and Clinical Pharmacology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland and the University Psychiatric Policlinic, University of Bern, Switzerland
Anne Hickey
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychology and Clinical Pharmacology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland and the University Psychiatric Policlinic, University of Bern, Switzerland
Kevin O'Malley
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychology and Clinical Pharmacology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland and the University Psychiatric Policlinic, University of Bern, Switzerland
C. R. B. Joyce
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychology and Clinical Pharmacology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland and the University Psychiatric Policlinic, University of Bern, Switzerland
*
1 Address for correspondence: Dr H. M. McGee, Department of Psychology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.
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Synopsis

Current methods of measuring quality of life (QoL) impose an external value system on individuals, rather than allowing them to describe their lives in terms of those factors which they consider important. The Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life (SEIQoL) was developed to overcome such limitations. The QoL of 42 healthy attenders at an international immunization clinic was assessed using SEIQoL. Judgement reliability was high (r = 0·74) and individuals' judgement policies accounted for a large percentage of the variance in overall QoL (R2 = 0·75) demonstrating the construct validity of judgement analysis in this context.

In a second study of QoL of out-patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) (N = 20) or peptic ulcer disease (PUD) (N = 20) was assessed using SEIQoL. Judgement reliability was lower (r = 0·54) although statistically highly significant (P < 0·01), and the variance in overall QoL judgements explained was high (R2 = 0·74).

SEIQoL is an acceptable, reliable and valid technique for measuring individual QoL that takes greater account of individual perspectives than traditional measurement approaches.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 21 , Issue 3 , August 1991 , pp. 749 - 759
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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