Bujang MA, et al. Restor Dent Endod. 2024 Jan;49:e3. https://doi.org/10.5395/rde.2024.49.e3

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is one of the most important outcome measures to be assessed by medical research. This study aims to develop and validate an instrument called the “health-related quality of life with six domains” (HRQ-6D), which aims to measure an individual’s health-related quality of life within a 24 h period of time. This is a questionnaire development study involving five phases, which are (i) to explore the subject matter content for gaining a better understanding of the topic, (ii) to develop the questionnaire, (iii) to assess both its content validity and face validity, (iv) to conduct a pilot study, and finally, (v) to undertake a field testing of the questionnaire. For the field-testing phase, a cross-sectional study involving a self-administered survey for HRQ-6D items was conducted among healthcare workers with various health conditions. Exploratory factor analysis was initially applied to construct the major dimensions of the HRQ-6D. Confirmatory factor analysis was subsequently applied to evaluate the model fit of the overall framework of the HRQ-6D. The clinical utility of this HRQ-6D was also assessed via its association with actual clinical evidence. A total of 406 respondents participated in the survey. Six domains were identified from the analysis, namely “pain”, “physical strength”, “emotion”, “self-care”, “mobility”, and “perception of future health” comprising two items in each domain. Each domain was reported to have a minimum value of Cronbach’s alpha of 0.731, and the model fit for the overall framework of the HRQ-6D was also found to be excellent. Exploratory factor analysis was undertaken for the 12 items of the HRQ-6D. All the domains can be categorized into three major dimensions, namely “health”, “body function”, and “future perception”, with a minimum value for their factor loadings of at least 0.507. A notable finding was that the HRQ-6D was significantly associated with an individual’s existing comorbidities and current status of health (p < 0.05). This study successfully validated the HRQ-6D, and we found it to possess both excellent levels of reliability and validity and a satisfactory degree of model fit; it was also significantly associated with actual clinical evidence.

Quality of life (QOL) should ideally be determined by a broader spectrum of measurable parameters. This study aims to develop and validate a study instrument that is designed to determine a holistic measure of health and non-health aspects of QOL, and it is called the ‘Significant Quality of Life Measure’ (SigQOLM). This study involves five phases which aim to (i) explore and understand the subject matter content, (ii) develop a questionnaire, (iii) assess its content validity and face validity, (iv) conduct a pilot study, and lastly (v) perform a field-test by using the questionnaire. For the field-testing phase, a cross-sectional study was conducted which elicited responses from healthcare workers via a self-administered survey for all the SigQOLM items. Based on the results, the overall framework of the SigQOLM consists of four elements, 18 domains with 69 items. The element of “Health” is measured by nine domains, while “Relationships”, “Functional activities, and “Survival” are measured by three domains respectively. The SigQOLM has been developed successfully and then validated with a high level of reliability, validity, and overall model fit. Therefore, the SigQOLM will provide researchers and policymakers another viable option to elicit a more comprehensive outcome measure of QOL which shall then enable them to implement specific interventions for improving the QOL of all the people, both healthy or otherwise.

Chronic diseases are known to detrimentally impact an individual’s quality of life (QOL) and well-being. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the QOL and overall well-being among both healthy individuals and those with diverse primary diagnoses. This is a cross-sectional study and data collection took place from May 2022 to May 2023. Information regarding healthy participants was gathered from healthcare workers without any comorbidities. Data for non-healthy participants were collected from individuals diagnosed with various conditions across four specialist clinics: nephrology, oncology, psychiatry, and cardiology. All participants completed the Significant Quality of Life Measures (SigQOLM), a comprehensive assessment tool consisting of 69 items that evaluate 18 domains of QOL and well-being. The study included a total of 452 participants, with 284 (62.8%) classified as healthy. Among the non-healthy participants, 41 (9.1%) had end-stage renal diseases (ESRD), 48 (10.6%) were diagnosed with cancer, 40 (8.8%) had depressive disorder, and the remaining had heart disease (8.6%). Statistical analysis revealed significant differences (p < 0.001) between healthy and non-healthy participants in both overall SigQOLM scores and across all 18 domains of SigQOLM. Generally, healthy participants also experienced excellent QOL and well-being. However, disparities in both QOL and overall well-being were evident among patients with various diagnoses. These findings provide valuable insights for medical practitioners and policy makers by enabling them to tailor interventions to enhance the QOL and well-being of their patients.

Pertanika Journal information and guidelines

Background/Objectives: This study aims to compare the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) between healthcare providers without chronic diseases and participants with chronic diseases presenting with one of the four different primary diagnoses on the health-related quality of life with six domains (HRQ-6D) scale. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study to compare the HRQOL between healthcare providers without chronic diseases and participants with chronic diseases. Data collection was performed from May 2022 to May 2023. Data for the comparison group were taken from healthcare providers without chronic diseases, and for the participant group with chronic diseases, the data were collected from actual patients with one of four types of primary diagnoses who were recruited from specialist cardiology, oncology, psychiatry, and nephrology clinics. All the participants of this study filled in the HRQ-6D. Results: There were 238 (58.6%) healthcare providers without chronic diseases who participated in this study, as well as 41 (10.1%) patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), 48 (11.8%) patients with cancer, and 40 (9.9%) patients who were depressed, and the remaining patients had heart disease. The means (SD) of HRQ-6D scores among healthcare providers without chronic diseases for pain, physical strength, emotion, mobility, self-care, perception of future health, and overall HRQ-6D score were 75.3% (19.8), 74.5% (21.1), 85.6% (18.4%), 93.0% (12.3), 91.6% (13.9), 74.2% (23.3), and 82.4% (13.6), respectively. In comparisons between healthcare providers without chronic diseases and participants with chronic diseases, all mean differences of the overall HRQ-6D score and its domains and dimensions were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The overall score of the HRQ-6D, as well as its domains and dimensions are sensitive in detecting the study participants with chronic diseases from among those without chronic diseases. Therefore, the HRQ-6D is a reliable and valid scale to measure HRQOL. Future studies may use this scale for interventional, observational, and cost-effectiveness studies.