Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Validation of a new patient-generated questionnaire for quality of life in an urban sample of elder residents

  • Brief Communication
  • Published:
Quality of Life Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To provide evidence for the validity of the Fragebogen zur Lebensqualität multimorbider älterer Menschen (FLQM; English: Quality of life in elders with multimorbidity), a new tool for the assessment of life-satisfaction as a subjective indicator of quality of life in old age.

Methods

The FLQM measures overall life-satisfaction based on those self-generated domains in life that are most important to the respondent. Construct validity (correlations with convergent and divergent scales) and differential validity (subgroup differences with respect to age and limitations in everyday functioning) were analyzed in an urban sample of older adults (n = 299; 54.6% male; Mean (age) = 75.65 years, SD = 6.57).

Results

Correlations of FLQM with measures of similar constructs were close (r = 0.35–0.50; p < 0.001). There were no age-group differences. However, subjects with self-reported impairment in functioning scored significantly lower on the FLQM. Also, the relationship between FLQM and self-rated health was close (r = 0.44; p < 0.001).

Conclusions

The FLQM is a valid assessment of older peoples’ life-satisfaction. The focus on domains of utmost individual importance seems to link the FLQM to self-rated health more closely than other ratings of global life-satisfaction. Further investigation into the qualitative information obtained by the FLQM is desirable in order to explain individual compositions of life-satisfaction and overall quality of life.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Fitzpatrick, R. (1999). Assessment of quality of life as an outcome: Finding measurements that reflect individuals’ priorities. Quality in Health Care, 8(1), 1–2.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Garratt, A., Schmidt, L., Mackintosh, A., & Fitzpatrick, R. (2002). Quality of life measurement: Bibliographic study of patient assessed health outcome measures. British Medical Journal, 324(7351), 1417–1419.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Ware, J. E., & Sherbourne, C. D. (1992). The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36). I. Conceptual framework and item selection. Medical Care, 30(6), 473–483.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Greiner, W., Weijnen, T., Nieuwenhuizen, M., Oppe, S., Badia, X., Busschbach, J., et al. (2003). A single European currency for EQ-5D health states. Results from a six country study. European Journal of Health Economics, 4(3), 222–231.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Diener, E., & Lucas, R. E. (2000). Subjective emotional well-being. In M. Lewis & J. M. Haviland (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (pp. 325–337). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Diener, E., & Suh, E. (1997). Measuring quality of life: Economic, social, and subjective indicators. Social Indicators Research, 40(1–2), 189–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Lawton, M. P. (1991). A multidimensional view of quality of life in frail elders. In J. E. Birren, J. E. Lubben, J. C. Rowe, & D. E. Deutchman (Eds.), The concept and measurement of quality of life in the frail elderly (pp. 3–27). San Diego: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Holzhausen, M., Bornschlegel, U., & Fischer, T. (2009). Patient view in the assessment of quality of life in old age: Potentials and limits. Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie, 42(5), 355–359.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Holzhausen, M., Kuhlmey, A., & Martus, P. (2010). Individualized measurement of quality of life in older adults: Development and pilot testing of a new tool. European Journal of Ageing, 7(3), 201–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Holzhausen, M., Fuchs, J., Busch, M., Ernert, A., Six-Merker, J., Knopf, H., et al. (2011). Operationalizing multimorbidity and autonomy for health services research in aging populations—The OMAHA study. BMC Health Services Research, 11, 47. doi:10.1186/1472-6963-11-47.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Streiner, D. L., & Norman, G. R. (2003). Health measurement scales: A practical guide to their development and use. Oxford: University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Thompson, E. R. (2007). Development and validation of an internationally reliable short-form of the positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS). Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 38(2), 227–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Robine, J. M., & Jagger, C. (2003). Creating a coherent set of indicators to monitor health across Europe: The Euro-REVES 2 project. European Journal of Public Health, 13(3 Suppl), 6–14.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155–159.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. SPSS Inc. (2009). PASW statistics 18, release version 18.0.0. Chicago, IL: SPSS Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Schwarz, N., & Strack, F. (1991). Evaluating one’s life: A judgment model of subjective well-being. In F. Strack, M. Argyle, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Subjective well-being: An interdisciplinary perspective (pp. 27–47). Oxford: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The project which inspired this article was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research under Grant Number 01ET0701. It was approved by the ethics committee of Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Ethikausschuss 1 am Campus Charité—Mitte) under approval number EA2/066/08 on July 14, 2008. The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Biometry and Clinical Epidemiology, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Hindenburgdamm 30, 12203, Berlin, Germany

    Martin Holzhausen & Peter Martus

Authors
  1. Martin Holzhausen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Peter Martus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin Holzhausen.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 36 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Holzhausen, M., Martus, P. Validation of a new patient-generated questionnaire for quality of life in an urban sample of elder residents. Qual Life Res 22, 131–135 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-012-0115-9

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-012-0115-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation