Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33792834›Full record

ReviewQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2021

How is quality of life defined and assessed in published research?

Daniel S J Costa, Rebecca Mercieca-Bebber, Claudia Rutherford, Margaret-Ann Tait, Madeleine T King

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 12 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
78citing papers in PubMed, 12 pooled it
–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

78 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Health-related quality of life in patients receiving medicinal cannabis: systematic review and meta-analysis of primary research findings 2015-2025.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
    Pooled it
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  5. Psychosocial interventions to improve quality of life in Hispanic cancer survivors: a meta-analysis.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2025
    Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Differences and common ground in the frameworks of health-related quality of life in traditional Chinese medicine and modern medicine: a systematic review.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2024
    Pooled it
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  12. Patient-reported outcome measures in Arabic-speaking populations: a systematic review.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2022
    Pooled it
  13. Trial
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  15. The quality of life of frequently vs. infrequently screened HPV vaccinated women.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2024
    Trial
  16. Article
  17. Observational
  18. The argument-based approach to validity: theory, assumptions, evidence, and consequences.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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.

Daniel S J CostaPain Management Research Institute, Royal North Shore Hospital, Reserve Road, St Leonards, NSW, 2065, Australia. daniel.costa@sydney.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6111-0620
Rebecca Mercieca-BebberFaculty of Science, School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Claudia RutherfordFaculty of Science, School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Margaret-Ann TaitFaculty of Science, School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Madeleine T KingFaculty of Science, School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo ensure clarity in communication in the field of quality of life research, and meaningful use of 'quality of life' as a research outcome, requires two things: awareness that there is a range of conceptualisations and definitions of 'quality of life', and for any particular study, consistency between the way the term is defined and operationalised in that setting. We aimed to identify how frequently research articles described (HR)QOL as a construct of interest, how frequently they referred to "patient-reported outcome (measures)", which patient-reported outcome measures were used, and how (HR)QOL was defined.

methodsWe reviewed all Quality of Life Research articles published in 2017 and recorded whether they described health-related quality of life or quality of life as constructs of interest, and/or mentioned the term(s) patient-reported outcome (measures). We recorded definitions of (HR)QOL stated and questionnaires used. We classified articles according to constructs assessed and instruments used, and examined whether articles citing the same definition used the same questionnaires.

resultsWe reviewed 300 articles; 65% stated that (HR)QOL was a construct of interest, 27% mentioned patient-reported outcome (measures), and 20% mentioned neither. Fifty-one articles provided definitions of (HR)QOL, citing 66 sources, with 11 definitions cited more than once. PROMIS, SF, EQ-5D, and EORTC instruments were the most commonly used. The only definition and questionnaire consistently used together were the WHO definitions/instruments.

conclusionThese results demonstrate considerable heterogeneity in the definition and operationalisation of (HR)QOL, between and within studies. This limits meaningful interpretation of (HR)QOL scores and complicates literature searches. Investigators should define constructs and select instruments aligned with their definitions.

Indexed as

Health StatusQuality of LifeHumansPatient Reported Outcome MeasuresSurveys and QuestionnairesDefinitionHealth-related quality of lifePatient-reported outcome measuresPatient-reported outcomesQuality of lifeTerminology

Identifiers

PMID33792834

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.