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ASSESSING HEALTH- RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

1Mohmad Amin Dar, 1Mudasir Maqbool, 2Dr. Sehrish Javed

Quality of life (QoL) has become an important issue in health care, especially in the studies of chronic diseases. It is a concept incorporating all the factors that might impact on an individual’s life. WHO defines health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity. The quality of life is usually measured using an instrument in the form of a questionnaire. The various issues to consider when attempting to measure quality of life are: ‘what questions should be asked, how responses be recorded, when should questions be asked, of whom should questions be asked and who should do the asking’. The questionnaire generally comprises sets of questions or items relating to the various dimensions of quality of life, such as physical, psychological or social. The format of responses may be ‘yes/no’, a series of ordered categories, or a linear analogue scale. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic debilitating disease, which has a detrimental effect on various aspects of life, including physical, psychological and social functioning. The ultimate aim of any therapy for RA should therefore be not only to improve symptoms and functional abilities but also to achieve a better overall quality of life. In order to assess QoL adequately in RA patients, the instrument that is used should be derived from the experiences of the patients themselves, and should be specific to the disease, simple to administer and complete and acceptable to the respondents. The Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), Sickness Impact profile (SIP), and Short Form Health Survey -36 (SF-36) are some of the generic instruments widely used in population studies. In this review, we will briefly look at the various health related questionnaires and scores employed in assessing Health- Related Quality of Life (QoL) in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

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