Quality of life and functional health of primary care patients.
Quality of life and functional health were measured cross-sectionally for 314 adult ambulatory primary care patients in a rural clinic and found to be much better for patients with low severity of illness who required no confinement to home because of health problems, than for patients with high severity of illness who required confinement. Severity of illness was the strongest predictor for patient-reported physical health function and for patient quality of life when assessed by the health provider. Confinement was the strongest predictor for patient quality of life when assessed by the patient. There was very little agreement between patient-assessed and provider-assessed quality of life. Family stress was the strongest predictor of function in terms of mental health, social health, general health, self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. These data suggest that clinicians should direct increased attention to patient-assessed quality of life, patient-reported functional health status, and psychosocial factors such as family stress in an effort to improve medical outcomes.
Parkerson
G R
GR
Department of Community and Family Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710.
Broadhead
W E
WE
Tse
C K
CK
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003151:Community Health Centers; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D012424:Rural Population; D012649:Self Concept; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology