| [ Summary ] |
Quality of life (QOL) is an umbrella concept related to patient's life experiences, such that in practice clinicians/researchers should explicitly show which constructs are measured for what purpose. However, the purpose of measuring QOL is often blurred due to a lack of strategic perspectives on the part of clinicians/researchers regarding the types of intervention and their expected impact on the patient's life. In addition, researcher-oriented constructs of a QOL measure may cause a serious gap between what is measured "objectively" and how a patient interprets her life-experience. To overcome these problems, the qualitative research method should be complimentarily used in QOL studies to assure that measurements are "grounded" in the patient's perspectives, and to allow clinicians/researchers to find a leverage point for intervention. |