Measuring quality of life in schizophrenia

A literature review identified nearly 500 papers in which references to quality of life (QoL) were made in the context of schizophrenia. Despite this, only two studies could be found where efforts had been made to assess the impact of pharmaceutical products on the QoL of patients with schizophrenia. It is argued that lack of progress in this area of research results from the absence of an adequate schizophrenia-specific QoL instrument. The present paper details the requirements for such an instrument, reviews health status instruments that have been used with schizophrenic patients and describes the methodology required for producing a new instrument. It is argued that the pharmaceutical industry should consider joint financing of such development work, given the importance of a reliable, valid and responsive outcome instrument for clinical trials. Such an instrument would also prove valuable when assessing alternative management programmes.