Quality Of Life Appraisal Research Articles

Fluctuations in appraisal over time in the context of stable versus non-stable health

This study seeks to estimate clinically significant change in quality of life (QOL) appraisal by comparing changes in appraisal over 6months of follow-up in people with multiple sclerosis who experienced no change in symptoms versus those with worsening symptoms. This estimation is important for enabling valid interpretation of longitudinal change, both in terms of ensuring the comparison of scores and for response shift estimation. This is a secondary analysis of longitudinal data (N=859) of participants in the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis registry. Patient groupings were characterized on the basis of self-reported symptom change over 1year of follow-up and compared in terms of their responses to the QOL Appraisal Profile. Bonferroni adjustments reduced the type I error rate, and interpretation was restricted to those comparisons with small or larger effect sizes using Cohen's criteria. The Symptoms Unchanged group evidenced more change in Frame of Reference goal delineation themes and Combinatory Algorithm, whereas the Symptoms Worse group evidenced more change in Sampling of Experience and Standards of Comparison items. The group differences were, however, not large or statistically significant in most cases, likely due to being under-powered to detect interaction effects. Many aspects of appraisal are relatively constant in the context of unchanging and changing symptom experience, but symptom changes led patients to make substantial shifts in what experiences they sample when thinking about their health-related QOL. These underlying cognitive processes may help people to maintain homeostasis in their perceived QOL.

Wellness appraisal among adolescents in Jordan: a model from a developing country: a cross-sectional questionnaire survey

The demographic and economic transition that many developing countries, including Jordan, are undergoing is producing important changes in diet and lifestyle that greatly impact the development of chronic illness. The health behavior of adolescents in developing countries constitutes one of the most serious global challenges we face. The purpose of this study was to explore the wellness appraisal of Jordanian adolescents. It specifically describes the (i) self-care and health history pattern, (ii) to assess physical activity and nutrition appraisal, (iii) quality of life appraisal and (iv) school and outside activities appraisal. A self-administrated questionnaire collected the data from adolescent groups (boys and girls.). A multi-stage stratified random sample was obtained from six public schools by first selecting the educational directorate located in the city of Irbid, which is located in the north of Jordan. A random sub sample of six individual schools was then selected. Individual classes were then selected. A total of 269 boys and 261 girls (12-17-year old) were included in the analysis. The results showed that the students engaged in risky health behaviors which could lead to short- and long-term health problems. The most alarming finding of this study was students' nutritional habits, including less than the daily requirements of fruits, vegetables, milk and meat, while the intake of fast food, soft drinks and sweets were higher than recommended. School-based health promotion and wellness programs should be established in Jordan to influence the health behaviors of adolescents and parents and to avoid further deterioration of their health. Jordanian school curriculum needs to integrate more precise health education programs about diet, exercise, self care and other life style behaviors. More detailed studies are needed with more elaborate instruments about food habits, physical activities and psycho social life.

Toward a theoretical model of quality-of-life appraisal: Implications of findings from studies of response shift

Mounting evidence for response shifts in quality of life (QOL) appraisal indicates the need to include direct measurement of the appraisal process itself as a necessary part of QOL assessment. We propose that directly assessing QOL appraisal processes will not only improve our ability to interpret QOL scores in the traditional sense, but will also yield a deeper understanding of the appraisal process in the attribution of and divergence in meaning. The published evidence for response shift is reviewed, and an assessment paradigm is proposed that includes the explicit measurement of QOL appraisal process parameters: 1) induction of a frame of reference; 2) recall and sampling of salient experiences; 3) standards of comparison used to appraise experiences; and 4) subjective algorithm used to prioritize and combine appraisals to arrive at a QOL rating. A QOL Appraisal Profile, which measures key appraisal processes, is introduced as an adjunct to existing QOL scales. The proposed theoretical model, building on the Sprangers and Schwartz (1999) model and highlighting appraisal processes, provides a fully testable theoretical treatment of QOL and change in QOL, suggesting hypothesized causal relationships and explanatory pathways for both cross-sectional and longitudinal QOL research.

Quality of life and coping with schizophrenia symptoms.

The question addressed in this paper is whether different coping styles mediate the relationship between psychopathology and related distress and the quality of life (QOL) among patients with schizophrenia. In a cross-sectional design, 161 schizophrenia inpatients were comprehensively evaluated with standardized measures of QOL, psychopathology, psychological distress and coping styles. Correlations and regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship among parameters and to estimate the mediating effect of coping styles on QOL in the framework of a distress/protection model. Life quality correlated positively with task- and avoidance-oriented coping styles and slightly negatively with emotion-oriented coping. Emotion-oriented coping mediated the relationship between the severity of activation, anxiety/depression symptoms, and QOL, while avoidance-oriented (distraction) coping was mediated between QOL and paranoid symptoms. Coping styles accounted for 25% of the variance in subjective QOL scores compared with 15% for psychological distress, and only 3% for clinical variables. The ability to cope with symptoms and associated distress substantially contributes to QOL appraisal in schizophrenia. Thus, different coping strategies may reduce the negative influence of specific symptoms and related distress on the subjective QOL of schizophrenia patients.