title: Assessment of health-related quality of life in orthopaedic outcomes' studies.
abstract: The assessment of health-related quality of life is becoming increasingly important in evaluating the effectiveness of orthopaedic interventions. This report provides an overview of issues related to the assessment of quality of life in orthopaedic populations. Discussed are the definition and dimensions of health-related quality of life: the usefulness of collecting quality of life data; methodological considerations in designing outcomes' studies; the selection of quality of life instruments; modes of instrument administration; and scoring.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157-1063, USA.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Naughton
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Shumaker
mesh_terms: D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009985:Orthopedics; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires