Why and how to use the quality of life as an evaluation criterion?

Abstract

Within the EU policies, quality of life as a criterion has been rarely used in evaluations. The concept of quality of life is vague and multidimensional. The unclear and ambiguity of the definition of what is included in the concept of quality of life makes it challenging to compare different studies with each other. The multidimensionality with pre-defined criteria makes sense when comparing the quality of life internationally or among regions. In case of improvement in quality of life, also criteria of local stakeholders need to be taken into account. Most published papers on quality of life evaluations are from health studies. The reason for such dominance lies in the importance of health conditions for the perception of the quality of life. The concept is, though, exploited in many other disciplines with various meanings. Beyond health conditions, many other factors influence the quality of life, including economic, social, work, or psychological ones. Another challenge concerns measuring the quality of life from objective and subjective perspectives. Objective factors like investment in civil infrastructure could sometimes be perceived differently across the population. Health, psychological, and social circumstances also influence the perception of quality of life. Moreover, the application of the same subjective indicator at different time points provides different information even if the same respondents participate in data collection. We can answer only partially the two questions used in the name of this contribution on why and how to use the quality of life as an evaluation criterion. It is because of the subjectivity of the understanding of the concept and multidimensionality of measuring it according to the needs of a particular evaluation.