The Unfolding Method to Explore Health-Related Quality of Life Constructs in a Chinese General Population

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a complicated concept that can be measured using multiple health items. Although HRQOL is closely associated with people's subjective assessment of their own health, a limited number of studies have investigated which health items are considered most important and relevant by the general population. Even fewer empirical studies have investigated how HRQOL is understood in non-Western populations. This study used multidimensional unfolding analysis in a Chinese general population to explore the constructs of HRQOL.

A scoping review of Chinese generic HRQOL measures and a series of qualitative interviews produced a list of 42 potentially important health items in a Chinese cultural setting; 110 Chinese participants in face-to-face interviews ranked the health items from most important to least important. Responses were coded into a rectangular 110 × 42 matrix, and multidimensional unfolding was conducted to analyze participants' preferences for health items.

It was found that demographic characteristics and one's health condition affected views of HRQOL. Meanwhile, 3 health items were considered to be most important across the whole sample: sleep quality, body constitution, and spiritual appearance.

This study used a novel approach to explore how people coming from a Chinese cultural setting may perceive HRQOL and which aspects of HRQOL are most important to them. The study shows that multidimensional unfolding is a feasible approach to assess preferences in a general population. Future studies using this approach are recommended to further explore the constructs of HRQOL in other general populations.