The Quality of Life Definition: Where Are We Going?

Tommaso Cai,Truls E Bjerklund Johansen,Paolo Verze

doi:10.3390/uro1010003

Tommaso Cai, Truls E Bjerklund Johansen + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/uro1010003

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Abstract

The quality of life (QoL) concept now includes new aspects related to patients’ well-being because QoL has become more of a personal perception than an an objective and measurable entity. Here, we discuss the principal aspects of QoL-related aspects in urology and andrology by using a narrative review. Some aspects concerning the QoL are essential when managing uro-andrological patients. The aim of treatments should not only include the absence of disease or symptoms relief but also the improvement of a patient’s QoL with regard to his/her internal status and relationship with others. In this sense, any therapeutic approach should be based on the patient’s perspectives and not only on the instrumental and laboratory findings. Finally, we discussed the role of a patient’s sexual partner adding an extra dimension to the patient-centerd approach as part of the QoL concept in andrology.

Highlights

Due to the improvements in medical care such as technical innovations, new drugs and new insights into the pathophysiology of urological diseases, the average life expectancy of patients has increased considerably in the last few decades [1]
A search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Scopus databases for relevant publications by using the following terms "quality of life" AND “urology" OR "andrology"
The filters used included the English language. Even if this search was planned as a narrative review, our search was performed in line with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) and the recommendations of the European Association of Urology guidelines (EAU) for conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses [4,5]

Summary

Introduction

Due to the improvements in medical care such as technical innovations, new drugs and new insights into the pathophysiology of urological diseases, the average life expectancy of patients has increased considerably in the last few decades [1]. In an editorial in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Elkington states, “What every physician wants for every one of his patients old or young, is not just the absence of death but life with a vibrant quality that we associate with a vigorous youth. This is nothing less than a humanistic biology that is concerned, not with material mechanisms alone, but with the wholeness of human life, with the spiritual quality of life that is unique to man” [2,3]. The aim of the present paper is to give a narrative review of QoL-related aspects in urology and andrology in order to provide the reader with some simple tools to use in everyday clinical practice

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