Flanagan's Quality of Life Scale
Name of Questionnaire
Flanagan's Quality of Life Scale (QOLS)
Description
Self-administered questionnaire designed for use in patients
with chronic illiness.
Developer
John C. Flanagan (deceased); modified for use in chronic illness
by Carol S. Burckhardt
Instrument distribution
Carol S. Burckhardt, Ph.D., R.N.
School of Nursing
Oregon Health Sciences University
3181 S.W. Sam Jackson Park Road
Portland, OR 97201-3098
E-mail
burckhac@ohsu.edu
Cost & availability
None
Administration
Self-administered
Time to complete
5 minutes
Number of items
16
Domains & categories
6
Name of categories/domains
Not scored separately: physical and material well- being;
relationships with other people; social, community, and civic
activities; personal development and fulfillment; recreation;
independence.
Scaling of items
7-point Likert-type scale ranging from "delighted" (7) to
"terrible" (1)
Scoring
Total scale score (possible range: 16 - 112)
Reliability
| a. Test-retest |
Reported
5
|
| b. Internal consistency |
Reported
5
|
Validity
| a. Content |
Flanagan's original 15-item scale was derived from 6500
critical incidents reported in interviews with 3200 American
adults of all ages and health status
6
. Burckhardt added one item (independence) after interviewing
204 people with chronic illnesses (diabetes, ostomy,
osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis)
5
|
| b. construct |
People with ostomies (stable illness) score higher than
those with diabetes (unstable illness); strong correlation
between QOLS and another measure of quality of life (the Life
Satisfaction Inventory); low to moderate correlations with
measures of health status (subscales of the Duke-UNC Health
Profile and the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales). Higher
correlations are between psychological and emotional
subscales and the QOLS, and mood is known to influence
quality of life perceptions
5
. |
Responsiveness
Scores increase significantly after lung volume
reductionsurgery2,3 (pre-op mean(SD)=78(8.2), 3 month
post-op=88.5(8.3), 6 month post-op=87.8(10.5)2
Research use
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung volume reduction
surgery2,3 ,
arthritis4 , sudden cardiac death
survivors7
Used in clinical trialsFibromyalgia Education & Exercise
8
Used in clinical setting
Fibromyalgia Patient Care9
Language
Original: English
Translations: Swedish, Norwegian, Hebrew, Spanish, Chinese,
Thai
References
- Anderson KL. The effect of chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease on quality of life. Res Nurs Health
1995;18,547-556.
- Anderson KL, Benditt JO, Tyler ML,
Albert RK, Wood DE, Lewis SL, Butler CW. Effect of lung volume
reduction surgery on overall quality of life. Am J Respir Crit Care
Med. reference info?
- Anderson KL, Benditt JO, Tyler ML,
Albert RK, Wood DE, Lewis SL, Klima LD. Lung volume reduction
surgery improves global quality of life. Am J Respir Crit Care Med
1996;153(Part 2):A426.
- Burckhardt CS. The impact of arthritis
on quality of life. Nurs Res 1985;34:11-16.
- Burckhardt CS, Woods SL, Schultz AA,
Ziebarth DM. Quality of life of adults with chronic illness: A
psychometric study. Res Nurs Health 1989;12:347-354.
- Flanagan JC. A research approach to
improving our quality of life. Am Psychologist
1978;33:138-147.
- Motzer SU, Stewart BS. Sense of
coherence as a predictor of quality of life in persons with
coronary heart disease surviving cardiac arrest. Res Nurs Health
1996;19:287-298.
- Burckhardt CS, Mannerkorpi K, Hedenberg
L, Bjelle A. A randomized, controlled clinincal trial of education
and physicial training for women with fibromyalgia. J Rheumatol
1994;21(4):714-720.
- Bennett RM, Burckhardt CS, Clark SR,
O'Reilly CA, Wiens AN, Campbell SM. Group treatment of
fibromyalgia: a 6 month outpatient program. J Rheumatol
;23(3):521-528.
Date of information
July 1998
|
