Health-related quality of life: methods of assessment

Developing a health-related quality of life (HRQOL) assessment requires both a conceptual model and an extended plan whereby the assessment can continue to be developed with repeated applications. While generic HRQOL assessments exist and can be readily applied, it is when the assessment is integrated into the treatment development process that it is of most value, and to do this optimally requires either disease or study-specific assessments. Investigators were encouraged to view the assessment task as an information processing activity, and to be as concerned about how a person generates an HRQOL assessment as much as what they state their HRQOL to be. The added value of doing an HRQOL assessment is also discussed.