[Quality of life and its application in postnatal health research].
Quality of life (QOL) is a broad-ranging concept, incorporating in a complex way the person's physical health, psychological state, social relationships, and has been widely used as health outcomes. But in postnatal research or health care in China, the application of QOL was restricted due to the deficiency of assessment tool. Quality of life scale includes two categories: general scale(designed for general population) and specific scale (designed for specific population). General scale didn't cover the specific issues introduced by childbirth. Specific scale for postnatal women was lacking until Symon designed an open Mother Generated Index (MGI). But the MGI had a high requirement for the understanding ability of audiences, and the completion was easily influenced by environment, both restricted the utilization in China. A specific, valid and reliable postnatal QOL scale is needed to develop in China. The aim of this overview is to describe the traits of the postnatal women's health, the meaning of the application of QOL in this period, and the situation analysis of the application in China.
Department of Child, Adolescent and Women's Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Sui Zan
SZ
Zhou
Xiao Li
XL
Wang
Yan
Y
Wang
D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011788:Quality of Life; D016387:Women's Health