ArticleBMJ global health2018
How will the sustainable development goals deliver changes in well-being? A systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate whether WHOQOL-BREF scores respond to change.
Article in BMJ global health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Systematic review of the factor structure of WHOQOL-bref in adult population.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic review of 29 self-report instruments for assessing quality of life in older adults receiving aged care services.BMJ open · 2021Pooled it
- Collaborative Care Versus Usual Care to Improve Quality of Life, Pain, Depression, and Physical Activity in Outpatients With Spinal Cord Injury: The SCI-CARE Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.Journal of neurotrauma · 2023Trial
- Peer support to maintain psychological wellbeing in people with advanced cancer: findings from a feasibility study for a randomised controlled trial.BMC palliative care · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Multimorbidity profiles and global quality of life: a population-based latent class and structural equation modeling study.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Healthcare accessibility and subjective well-being in Xizang: evidence from a high-altitude region of China.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Health-related quality of life in asthma measured by the World Health Organization brief questionnaire (WHO-BREF) and the effect of concomitant allergic rhinitis-A population-based study.The clinical respiratory journal · 2025Article
- Assessing the Quality of Life of Pregnant Women in Romania: Socioeconomic, Health, and Obstetric Factors and the Validation of the WHOQOL-BREF Instrument.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2025Article
- Psychosocial support for Arabic-speaking refugees residing in Switzerland (Sui app): A mixed-methods randomised controlled trial.Journal of migration and health · 2025Review
- Home-based Bodyweight Training: An Emergency Approach to Enhance Students' Quality of Life.International journal of school health · 2024Article
- Women's environmental quality of life is key to their overall quality of life and health: Global evidence from the WHOQOL-100.PloS one · 2024Article
- Quality of life of Venezuelan migrants in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic.Cadernos de saude publica · 2024Article
- Exploring the association between sexual motivation and quality of life in China and the United Kingdom.PloS one · 2023Article
- Primary hypothyroidism and quality of life.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2022Review
- A systematic review of sexual health and subjective well-being in older age groups.Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2022Review
- Quality of life and vocational education service quality in students with intellectual disability.International journal of developmental disabilities · 2022Article
- Prospective Evaluation of Positivity Rates ofFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Article
- Factor structure, measurement invariance and psychometric properties of the Quality of Life Scale WHOQOL-BREF in the Ecuadorian context.Psicologia, reflexao e critica : revista semestral do Departamento de Psicologia da UFRGS · 2021Article
- Toward Environmental Sustainability, Health, and Equity: How the Psychological Characteristics of College Students Are Reflected in Understanding Sustainable Development Goals.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015 aim to '…promote well-being for all', but this has raised questions about how its targets will be evaluated. A cross-cultural measure of subjective perspectives is needed to complement objective indicators in showing whether SDGs improve well-being. The WHOQOL-BREF offers a short, generic, subjective quality of life (QoL) measure, developed with lay people in 15 cultures worldwide; 25 important dimensions are scored in environmental, social, physical and psychological domains. Although validity and reliability are demonstrated, clarity is needed on whether scores respond sensitively to changes induced by treatments, interventions and major life events. We address this aim.
methodsThe WHOQOL-BREF responsiveness literature was systematically searched (Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE and Medline). From 117 papers, 15 (24 studies) (n=2084) were included in a meta-analysis. Effect sizes (Cohen's d) assessed whether domain scores changed significantly during interventions/events, and whether such changes are relevant and meaningful to managing clinical and social change.
resultsScores changed significantly over time on all domains: small to moderate for physical (d=0.37; CI 0.25 to 0.49) and psychological QoL (d=0.22; CI 0.14 to 0.30), and small for social (d=0.10; CI 0.05 to 0.15) and environmental QoL (d=0.12; CI 0.06 to 0.18). More importantly, effect size was significant for every domain (p<0.001), indicating clinically relevant change, even when differences are small. Domains remained equally responsive regardless of sample age, gender and evaluation interval.
conclusionInternational evidence from 11 cultures shows that all WHOQOL-BREF domains detect relevant, meaningful change, indicating its suitability to assess SDG well-being targets.
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