title: The application of the Drug User Quality of Life Scale (DUQOL) in Australia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The concept of quality of life relates to the perceptions of individuals about their mental and physical health as well as non-health related areas. The evaluation of quality of life in the context of substance abuse has been conducted using generic instruments. The Drug Users Quality of Life Scale (DUQOL) is a specific assessment tool in which the most pertinent and salient areas to drug abusers are taken into consideration. In this study, the authors report the results of a validation study in which the DUQOL was used for the first time in Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 120 participants from inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities completed a series of questionnaires, including the DUQOL and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF). Parameters investigated in this study included the demographic characteristics of the sample, internal structure, and convergent validity. Correlations between the DUQOL scale scores and the scores of the WHOQOL-Bref test were investigated via Pearson product-moment correlation analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The English version of the DUQOL attained a significant overall Cronbach's alpha of 0.868. The factorial analysis of the DUQOL identified one principal factor that accounted for 28.499% of the variance. Convergent validity analyses demonstrate significant correlations (p < 0.01) between the DUQOL scores and the scores of all four dimensions of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that the DUQOL constitutes a reliable research instrument for evaluating quality of life of substance users in Australia.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Department of Psychiatry, Western Sydney Local Health District, Blacktown Hospital, PO Box 6010, Blacktown, NSW 2148, Australia. zubaran_jr@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zubaran
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Emerson
authors.forename: Rishi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sud
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zolfaghari
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Foresti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001315:Australia; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires