Purpose

The purpose of the Quality of Well-Being Scale [QWB-36] is to provide a concise assessment tool for measuring health-related quality of life. It aims to quantify health outcomes from any treatment in terms of quality-adjusted life years.

Scale Analysis

The QWB-36 was developed by Kaplan in 1976 and is part of a broader health policy model. The measure includes functional components of mobility, physical activity, and social activity, as well as a comprehensive checklist of symptoms and health problems. It is a general health-related quality-of-life measurement used across a wide range of populations and clinical studies. The scale is based on a three-dimensional health model. Health assessment begins with an objective evaluation of functional level, followed by a score assigned to reflect the utility of that level to the individual. Finally, it assesses both current health status and future health prognosis.

Scale Scoring

Scoring allows each individual to be placed along a continuum from 0 (dead) to 1.0 (asymptomatic full function). These values are linearly transformed to a 0–100 scale, where 0 represents the poorest health state and 100 the most favorable. All scores represent the percentage of the total possible score on the scale.

Reliability and Validity

The QWB-36 has been standardized for use with individuals and the general population, as well as specific groups such as patients with arthritis and individuals living with HIV. It shows high reliability, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.80.

References

Kontodimopoulos, N. (2016). The usefulness of health measurement in resource allocation decisions.
Yfantopoulos, G. N. (2007). Measuring quality of life and the European health model. Arch Hellen Med, 24, 6–18.
Jani, H., Dhruva, G., Sorani, D., & Dave, Y. The RAND-36 Health Survey 1.0: Translation, Reliability, Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Gujarati Version. Methodology, 4, 6.