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Quality of life in Brazil: normative values for the Whoqol-bref in a southern general population sample

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Abstract

Purpose

Normative data for WHOQOL-bref are scarce in the literature and unavailable in Latin American countries. The main objective of this study was to provide normative scores of WHOQOL-bref in a general population sample in Brazil and to describe differences in mean scores according to some socio-demographic characteristics.

Methods

WHOQOL-bref was applied to a randomly selected sample of the general population of Porto Alegre. Participants were literate people aged 20 to 64 years. The questionnaires were self-administered in the presence of an interviewer in the respondent’s home.

Results

The response rate was 68%, and the final sample contained 751 respondents (38% men, 62% women). Low quality of life was observed in the following subgroups: female gender, lower economic class, lower educational level, and the subgroup reporting a chronic medical condition. The mean scores of the WHOQOL-bref and percentiles of scores are reported as normative data for the general population.

Conclusion

Our results can be useful to researchers using the WHOQOL-bref to compare their results with normative data from a randomly selected sample of general population. Additionally, the ability of WHOQOL-bref to discriminate different population subgroups makes it an important tool to identify vulnerable groups in epidemiological surveys.

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Abbreviations

WHOQOL:

World health organization quality of life instrument

QOL:

Quality of life

GDP:

Gross domestic product

IBGE:

Brazilian institute of geography and statistics

SPSS:

Statistical package for social sciences

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Research Incentive and Event Fund of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre for the financial aid in translating this article. Dr. Luciane Cruz received graduate research scholarship from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Brazil. Prof. Polanczyk and Prof. Fleck received a research scholarship from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)/Brazil. This study was funded by CNPQ/Brazil (Edital MCT-CNPq/MS-SCTIE-DECIT No 36/2005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Studies Program in Epidemiology/Health Technology Assessment Institute (IATS)/Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2350/building 21/Fifth floor, Porto Alegre, RS 90035-903, Brazil

    Luciane N. Cruz, Carisi A. Polanczyk & Suzi A. Camey

  2. Graduate Studies Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2400/Second floor, Porto Alegre, RS 90035-003, Brazil

    Juliana F. Hoffmann

  3. Graduate Studies Program in Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Marcelo P. Fleck

Authors
  1. Luciane N. Cruz
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  2. Carisi A. Polanczyk
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  3. Suzi A. Camey
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  4. Juliana F. Hoffmann
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  5. Marcelo P. Fleck
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luciane N. Cruz.

Appendix 1: Domains and facets within domains of WHOQOL-bref

Appendix 1: Domains and facets within domains of WHOQOL-bref

 

Domain 1 Physical health

1.

Pain and discomfort

2.

Energy and fatigue

3.

Sleep and rest

9.

Mobility

10.

Activities of daily living

11.

Dependence on medical substances and medical aids

12.

Work capacity

Domain 2 Psychological

4.

Positive feelings

5.

Thinking, learning, memory and concentration

6.

Self-esteem

7.

Bodily image and appearance

8.

Negative feelings

24.

Spirituality/religion/personal beliefs

Domain 3 Social relationships

13.

Personal relationships

14.

Social support

15.

Sexual activity

Domain 4 Environment

16.

Freedom, physical safety and security

17.

Home environment

18.

Financial resources

19.

Health and social care: accessibility and quality

20.

Opportunities for acquiring new information and skills

21.

Participation in and opportunities for recreation/leisure activity

22.

Physical environment (pollution/noise/traffic/climate)

23.

Transport

  1. WHOQOL-group (3)

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Cruz, L.N., Polanczyk, C.A., Camey, S.A. et al. Quality of life in Brazil: normative values for the Whoqol-bref in a southern general population sample. Qual Life Res 20, 1123–1129 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-011-9845-3

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