Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29243043›Full record

ArticleQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2018

Quality of life in a broader perspective: Does ASCOT reflect the capability approach?

M S van Loon, K M van Leeuwen, R W J G Ostelo, J E Bosmans, G A M Widdershoven

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Transcultural translation and adaptation of EuroQol's EQ-5D-5L for Nepal: process description and recommendations for an interpretation guide.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Use of the adult social care outcomes toolkit (ASCOT) in research studies: an international scoping review.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Exploratory factor analysis and Rasch analysis to assess the structural validity of the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit Proxy version (ASCOT-Proxy) completed by care home staff.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2024
    Article
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  8. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

M S van LoonDepartment of Medical Humanities, VU Medical Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.loon@vumc.nl.ORCID 0000-0002-6801-712X
K M van LeeuwenFaculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Free University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
R W J G OsteloFaculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Free University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
J E BosmansFaculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Free University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
G A M WiddershovenDepartment of Medical Humanities, VU Medical Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Funding

Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek 319-20-001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeEconomic evaluation of services and interventions in care services tends to focus on quality of life(QoL) based on health-related measures such as EQ5D, with a major focus on health and functioning. The Capability Approach (CA) provides an alternative framework for measuring QoL and challenges some of the conventional issues in the current practice of measurement of QoL. The Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) aims to measure social care-related QoL in a broad sense. This article investigates whether and, if so, how the ASCOT addresses issues put on the agenda by the CA.

methodsLiterature analysis concerning theoretical assumptions and arguments of CA and ASCOT.

resultsThe Capability Approach (CA) puts three issues on the agenda regarding QoL. First, the focus of evaluation should not be on functioning, but on freedom of choice. Second, evaluation should be critical about adaptive preferences, which entail that people lower expectations in situations of limited possibilities. Third, evaluation should not only address health, but also other domains of life. Our analysis shows that freedom of choice is reflected in the response option 'as I want' in the ASCOT questionnaire. The problem of adaptive preferences is countered in the ASCOT by developing a standard based on preferences of the general population. Third, the ASCOT contains several domains of life.

conclusionsWe conclude that the CA and the ASCOT contribute to the discussion on QoL, and that the ASCOT operationalizes core assumptions of the CA, translating the issues raised by the CA in a practical way.

Indexed as

Choice BehaviorHealth StatusSurveys and QuestionnairesAgedCost-Benefit AnalysisFemaleHumansMaleQuality of LifeASCOTCapability approachEconomic evaluationQuality of life

Identifiers

PMID29243043
PMCPMC5891546

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.