[To what extent is it possible to integrated quality of life as a normative, subjective evaluation into scientific medicine?].
Quality of Life is an increasingly popular concept, often associated with a wish to organize therapy along patient-oriented lines. However, determining the quality of life goes beyond a purely descriptive and objective assessment. It is based on subjective evaluation and is influenced by the ability to adapt to miserable conditions. Further conceptual problems consist in the structure of questionnaires and in the fact that there is no consensus about a clear definition of quality of life. The ideal of multidimensionality is restricted by practical limits of acceptable time and tolerable number of questions. Nevertheless most of the modern instruments focus on the patient's well-being and promote the realisation of their individual preferences. The hope is that quality of life will be an additional scale to enhance the established criteria of treatment success like survival time and remission duration. There is the risk to set value-thresholds on life, which appears to be inappropriate. Quality of life assessment may refine the choices of therapeutic aids, but can never solve the difficult moral questions that appertain to the value of life.
Meran
J G
JG
I. Medizinischen Abteilung mit Onkologie, Wilhelminenspitals der Stadt Wien, Osterreich.
Karthaus
M
M
Zojer
N
N
Leitgeb
C
C
D006801:Humans; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012016:Reference Values