Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns".[1]

Standard indicators of the quality of life include wealth, employment, the environment, physical and mental health, education, recreation and leisure time, social belonging, religious beliefs, safety, security and freedom.[2][3][4] QOL has a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, politics and employment. Health related QOL (HRQOL) is an evaluation of QOL and its relationship with health.[5]

Engaged theory

One approach, called the engaged theory, outlined in the journal of Applied Research in the Quality of Life, posits four domains in assessing quality of life: ecology, economics, politics and culture.[6] In the domain of culture, for example, it includes the following subdomains of quality of life:

  • Beliefs and ideas
  • Creativity and recreation
  • Enquiry and learning
  • Gender and generations
  • Identity and engagement
  • Memory and projection
  • Well-being and health

Under this conception, other frequently related concepts include freedom, human rights, and happiness. However, since happiness is subjective and difficult to measure, other measures are generally given priority. It has also been shown that happiness, as much as it can be measured, does not necessarily increase correspondingly with the comfort that results from increasing income.[7] As a result, the standard of living should not be taken to be a measure of happiness.[2][8] Also, sometimes considered related is the concept of human security, though the latter may be considered at a more basic level and for all people.

Quantitative measurement

Unlike per capita GDP or standard of living, both of which can be measured in financial terms, it is harder to make objective or long-term measurements of the quality of life experienced by nations or other groups of people. Researchers have begun in recent times to distinguish two aspects of personal well-being: Emotional well-being, in which respondents are asked about the quality of their everyday emotional experiences – the frequency and intensity of their experiences of, for example, joy, stress, sadness, anger and affection – and life evaluation, in which respondents are asked to think about their life in general and evaluate it against a scale.[9] Such and other systems and scales of measurement have been in use for some time. Research has attempted to examine the relationship between quality of life and productivity.[10]

There are many different methods of measuring quality of life in terms of health care, wealth, and materialistic goods. However, it is much more difficult to measure meaningful expression of one's desires. One way to do so is to evaluate the extent to which individuals have fulfilled their own ideals. Quality of life can simply mean happiness, which is the subjective state of mind. By using that mentality, citizens of a developing country appreciate more since they are content with the basic necessities of health care, education and child protection.[11]

According to ecological economist Robert Costanza:

In healthcare

Within the field of healthcare, quality of life is often regarded in terms of how a certain ailment affects a patient on an individual level. This may be a debilitating weakness that is not life-threatening; life-threatening illness that is not terminal; terminal illness; the predictable, natural decline in the health of an elder; an unforeseen mental/physical decline of a loved one; or chronic, end-stage disease processes. Researchers at the University of Toronto's Quality of Life Research Unit define quality of life as "The degree to which a person enjoys the important possibilities of his or her life". Their Quality of Life Model is based on the categories "being", "belonging", and "becoming"; respectively who one is, how one is connected to one's environment, and whether one achieves one's personal goals, hopes, and aspirations.[29][30]

Experience sampling studies show substantial between-person variability in within-person associations between somatic symptoms and quality of life.[31] Hecht and Shiel measure quality of life as "the patient's ability to enjoy normal life activities" since life quality is strongly related to wellbeing without suffering from sickness and treatment.[32]

In international development

Quality of life has been deemed an important concept in the field of international development because it allows development to be analyzed on a measure that is generally accepted as more comprehensive than standard of living. Within development theory, however, there are varying ideas concerning what constitutes desirable change for a particular society. The different ways that quality of life is defined by institutions, therefore, shape how these organizations work for its improvement as a whole.

Organisations such as the World Bank, for example, declare a goal of "working for a world free of poverty",[33] with poverty defined as a lack of basic human needs, such as food, water, shelter, freedom, access to education, healthcare, or employment.[34] In other words, poverty is defined as a low quality of life. Using this definition, the World Bank works towards improving quality of life through the stated goal of lowering poverty and helping people afford a better quality of life.

Other organizations, however, may also work towards improved global quality of life using a slightly different definition and substantially different methods. Many NGOs do not focus at all on reducing poverty on a national or international scale, but rather attempt to improve the quality of life for individuals or communities. One example would be sponsorship programs that provide material aid for specific individuals. Although many organizations of this type may still talk about fighting poverty, the methods are significantly different.

Improving quality of life involves action not only by NGOs but also by governments. Global health has the potential to achieve greater political presence if governments were to incorporate aspects of human security into foreign policy. Stressing individuals' basic rights to health, food, shelter, and freedom addresses prominent inter-sectoral problems negatively impacting today's society, and may lead to greater action and resources. Integration of global health concerns into foreign policy may be hampered by approaches that are shaped by the overarching roles of defense and diplomacy.[35]

See also

Indices

Journals

References

  1. ↑ "WHOQOL: Measuring Quality of Life". World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 15 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 Gregory, Derek; Johnston, Ron; Pratt, Geraldine; Watts, Michael; et al., eds. (June 2009). "Quality of Life". Dictionary of Human Geography (5th ed.). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-4051-3287-9.
  3. ↑ Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen, ed. (1993). The Quality of Life, Oxford: Clarendon Press. Description and chapter-preview links. Archived 11 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Barcaccia, Barbara (4 September 2013). "Quality Of Life: Everyone Wants It, But What Is It?". Forbes/ Education. Archived from the original on 22 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Bottomley, Andrew (2002). "The Cancer Patient and Quality of Life". The Oncologist. 7 (2): 120–125. doi:10.1634/theoncologist.7-2-120. ISSN 1083-7159. PMID 11961195. S2CID 20903110.
  6. ↑ Magee, Liam; James, Paul; Scerri, Andy (2012). "Measuring Social Sustainability: A Community-Centred Approach". Applied Research in the Quality of Life. 7 (3): 239–61. doi:10.1007/s11482-012-9166-x. S2CID 145257262. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  7. ↑ Kahneman, Daniel; Deaton, Angus (4 August 2010). "High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being" (PDF). PNAS. 107 (38): 16489–16493. Bibcode:2010PNAS..10716489K. doi:10.1073/pnas.1011492107. PMC 2944762. PMID 20823223. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2011.
  8. ↑ Layard, Richard (6 April 2006). Happiness: Lessons from a New Science. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-101690-0.
  9. ↑ Kahneman, D.; Deaton, A. (2010). "High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 107 (38): 16489–16493. Bibcode:2010PNAS..10716489K. doi:10.1073/pnas.1011492107. PMC 2944762. PMID 20823223.
  10. ↑ Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, The Increasing Importance of Quality of Life, October 2008 Archived 19 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Singer, Peter (2011). "The Big Question: Quality of Life: What Does It Mean? How Shoulf We Measure It?". World Policy Journal. 28 (2): 3–6. doi:10.1177/0740277511415049. PMID 22165429. S2CID 22394600.
  12. ↑ Costanza, R.; et al. (2008). "An Integrative Approach to Quality of Life Measurement, Research, and Policy". S.A.P.I.EN.S. 1 (1). Archived from the original on 8 May 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  13. 1 2 Maksymowicz, Stanisław; Libura, Maria; Jarynowski, Andrzej; Paradowski, Michał B. (2026). "Discrepancies in the country versions of the WHOQOL-BREF as a potential source of error in assessing quality of life and a barrier to comparative research". Health and Quality of Life Outcomes. 24 (1) 69. doi:10.1186/s12955-026-02529-5. PMC 13185381. PMID 41965716.
  14. ↑ Human Development Index, "Composite indices – HDI and beyond" Archived 10 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  15. ↑ "World Happiness Report". Overview. Helliwell, J., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (2016). World Happiness Report 2016, Update (Vol. I). New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network. 2016. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  16. ↑ The Lancet (26 March 2016). "Health and Happiness". The Lancet. 387 (10025): 1251. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30062-9. PMID 27025416. S2CID 35328608.
  17. ↑ Morris, Morris David (January 1980). "The Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI)". Development Digest. 1 (1): 95–109. PMID 12261723.
  18. ↑ "The Happy Planet Index 2.0". New Economics Foundation. 2012. Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  19. ↑ Levy, Francesca (14 July 2010). "Table: The World's Happiest Countries". Forbes. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  20. ↑ "The Happiest and Unhappiest Countries in the World". Gallup. 20 March 2017. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  21. ↑ "Higher income improves life rating but not emotional well-being". PhysOrg.com. 7 September 2010. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
  22. ↑ "Measures of National Well-being". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  23. ↑ John Helliwell; Richard Layard; Jeffrey Sachs (eds.). "World Happiness Report" (PDF). The Earth Institute - Columbia University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 April 2012.
  24. ↑ OECD Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-being (PDF). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2013. doi:10.1787/9789264191655-en. ISBN 978-92-64-19165-5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2013.
  25. ↑ "Happy Places". The Happiness Initiative. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  26. ↑ Derek, Boc (2010). The Politics of Happiness : What Government Can Learn from the New Research on Well-Being. United States: Princeton University Press. p. 32. ISBN 9781400832194.
  27. ↑ Edmond, Charlotte (21 September 2023). "What's the 'digital quality of life' level in your country?". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  28. ↑ Murphy, Francois (3 September 2019). "Vienna holds off Melbourne to top EIU ranking of most liveable cities". Reuters. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  29. ↑ "Quality of Life Research Unit". University of Toronto. Archived from the original on 14 June 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
  30. ↑ "Begin Your Journey!". qualityoflifecare.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  31. ↑ van der Krieke; et al. (2016). "Temporal Dynamics of Health and Well-Being: A Crowdsourcing Approach to Momentary Assessments and Automated Generation of Personalized Feedback" (PDF). Psychosomatic Medicine. 79 (2): 213–223. doi:10.1097/PSY.0000000000000378. PMID 27551988. S2CID 10955232 – via pure.rug.nl.
  32. ↑ McNally, James W. (2009). Encyclopedia of the Life Course and Human Development (vol. 3 ed.). US: Macmillan Reference. p. 317.
  33. ↑ "The World Bank" (PDF). The World Bank. 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  34. ↑ "Poverty - Overview". The World Bank. 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  35. ↑ Spiegel and Huish. Canadian Foreign Aid for Global Health: Human Security Opportunity Lost.

Further reading

Journals
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measuring_well-being