The Psychometric Properties of the Older People's Quality of Life Questionnaire, Compared with the CASP-19 and the WHOQOL-OLD.

Ann Bowling

doi:10.1155/2009/298950

Abstract

Purpose. To present the psychometric properties of a new measure of quality of life in older age, the Older People's Quality of Life (OPQOL) Questionnaire, compared with the CAPSE-19 and the WHOQOL-OLD. Design and Methods. The vehicle was three national population surveys of older people living at home in Britain, including a survey of ethnically diverse older people. Results. The OPQOL had acceptable levels of reliability and validity in British population samples of older people, but more modest in the ethnically diverse population sample. The CASP-19 and WHOQOL-OLD had acceptable levels of reliability and validity in the British population sample, but not in the ethnically diverse sample. Implications. The OPQOL has potential for use as a multidimensional population surveillance instrument for use with older populations, or as an outcome measure of multisector policy. Its strengths are that its development was embedded firmly in the perspectives of older people, integrated with theory.

Highlights

Increasing concerns about the policy implications of ageing populations, and increased life expectancies, in the developed world, have led to interest in interventions to improve older people’s health, independence, activity, social and economic participation, thereby their active contribution to society—and in effect, adding quality to extended years
The measures of quality of life (QoL) used included the newly developed Older People’s Quality of Life Questionnaire (OPQOL), which was administered in all three surveys; and, in the two face-to-face interview surveys only, the CASP-19 [4, 5] and the WHOQOL-OLD [13] —as this mode is the least cognitively taxing for respondents, permitting a longer questionnaire [12]
They had the largest numbers of adults per household (30%, 118) lived in households with more than four people aged 18+, compared with 1% (%) and none of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Omnibus and QoL follow-up respondents)

Summary

Introduction

Increasing concerns about the policy implications of ageing populations, and increased life expectancies, in the developed world, have led to interest in interventions to improve older people’s health, independence, activity, social and economic participation, thereby their active contribution to society—and in effect, adding quality to extended years. Assessment of quality of life (QoL) is a commonly used endpoint of health technology assessment and is the stated endpoint of policies aiming to promote active ageing [1]. Some have incorporated a needs-based satisfaction model, based on Maslow [2] and Maslow [3] hierarchy of human needs for maintenance and existence (physiological, safety and security, social and belonging, ego, status and self-esteem, and self-actualisation). Higgs et al [4] and Hyde et al [5] based their model of QoL in older age on self-actualisation and self-esteem.

Methods

Results

Conclusion