Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Public Health Reports logoLink to Public Health Reports
. 1992 Sep-Oct;107(5):530–539.

Measuring the quality of life of the elderly in health promotion intervention clinical trials.

N G Kutner 1, M G Ory 1, D I Baker 1, K B Schechtman 1, M C Hornbrook 1, C D Mulrow 1
PMCID: PMC1403694  PMID: 1410233

Abstract

The Multicenter Trials of Frailty and Injuries: Cooperative Studies of Intervention Techniques (FICSIT) is a series of clinical trials of biomedical, behavioral, and environmental interventions to reduce the risks of frailty and injury among the elderly. Reliable assessment of the quality of life reported by the subjects is a central issue in evaluating the interventions. An intervention may have a significant impact on an elderly person's sense of well-being, even though significant improvement is not observed in selected physical outcome measures. Elderly persons' compliance with particular intervention regimens may be influenced by the quality of life effects that they perceive in relation to the intervention. The researchers review the definition and measurement of quality of life in the trials, with particular attention to issues in determining common measures used at all study locations. Practical considerations in the selection and use of quality of life measures in both community and institutional populations are addressed. Topics discussed include the interrelation of aging, functional capacities, and quality of life; the multi-dimensionality of quality of life in relation to differential intervention effects; and age-related issues in the collection of quality of life data. Preliminary observations are reviewed, and potential contributions of FICSIT to intervention-sensitive quality of life assessments among the elderly are noted.

Full text

PDF
530

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bergner M., Bobbitt R. A., Carter W. B., Gilson B. S. The Sickness Impact Profile: development and final revision of a health status measure. Med Care. 1981 Aug;19(8):787–805. doi: 10.1097/00005650-198108000-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Campbell A. J., Reinken J., Allan B. C., Martinez G. S. Falls in old age: a study of frequency and related clinical factors. Age Ageing. 1981 Nov;10(4):264–270. doi: 10.1093/ageing/10.4.264. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Downie W. W., Leatham P. A., Rhind V. M., Wright V., Branco J. A., Anderson J. A. Studies with pain rating scales. Ann Rheum Dis. 1978 Aug;37(4):378–381. doi: 10.1136/ard.37.4.378. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Folstein M. F., Folstein S. E., McHugh P. R. "Mini-mental state". A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiatr Res. 1975 Nov;12(3):189–198. doi: 10.1016/0022-3956(75)90026-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Guralnik J. M., Branch L. G., Cummings S. R., Curb J. D. Physical performance measures in aging research. J Gerontol. 1989 Sep;44(5):M141–M146. doi: 10.1093/geronj/44.5.m141. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Guyatt G., Feeny D., Patrick D. Issues in quality-of-life measurement in clinical trials. Control Clin Trials. 1991 Aug;12(4 Suppl):81S–90S. doi: 10.1016/s0197-2456(05)80014-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Idler E. L., Kasl S. V., Lemke J. H. Self-evaluated health and mortality among the elderly in New Haven, Connecticut, and Iowa and Washington counties, Iowa, 1982-1986. Am J Epidemiol. 1990 Jan;131(1):91–103. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115489. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Jette A. M., Branch L. G. The Framingham Disability Study: II. Physical disability among the aging. Am J Public Health. 1981 Nov;71(11):1211–1216. doi: 10.2105/ajph.71.11.1211. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Jobe J. B., Mingay D. J. Cognitive laboratory approach to designing questionnaires for surveys of the elderly. Public Health Rep. 1990 Sep-Oct;105(5):518–524. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. KATZ S., FORD A. B., MOSKOWITZ R. W., JACKSON B. A., JAFFE M. W. STUDIES OF ILLNESS IN THE AGED. THE INDEX OF ADL: A STANDARDIZED MEASURE OF BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL FUNCTION. JAMA. 1963 Sep 21;185:914–919. doi: 10.1001/jama.1963.03060120024016. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kelsey J. L., O'Brien L. A., Grisso J. A., Hoffman S. Issues in carrying out epidemiologic research in the elderly. Am J Epidemiol. 1989 Nov;130(5):857–866. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115418. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Lundgren-Lindquist B., Aniansson A., Rundgren A. Functional studies in 79-year-olds. III. Walking performance and climbing capacity. Scand J Rehabil Med. 1983;15(3):125–131. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Morris J. C., Heyman A., Mohs R. C., Hughes J. P., van Belle G., Fillenbaum G., Mellits E. D., Clark C. The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD). Part I. Clinical and neuropsychological assessment of Alzheimer's disease. Neurology. 1989 Sep;39(9):1159–1165. doi: 10.1212/wnl.39.9.1159. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Mossey J. M., Knott K., Craik R. The effects of persistent depressive symptoms on hip fracture recovery. J Gerontol. 1990 Sep;45(5):M163–M168. doi: 10.1093/geronj/45.5.m163. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference Statement: geriatric assessment methods for clinical decision-making. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1988 Apr;36(4):342–347. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1988.tb02362.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Ory M. G., Williams T. F. Rehabilitation: small goals, sustained interventions. Ann Am Acad Pol Soc Sci. 1989 May;(503):60–71. doi: 10.1177/0002716289503001005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Reuben D. B., Siu A. L. An objective measure of physical function of elderly outpatients. The Physical Performance Test. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1990 Oct;38(10):1105–1112. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1990.tb01373.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Rovner B. W., German P. S., Broadhead J., Morriss R. K., Brant L. J., Blaustein J., Folstein M. F. The prevalence and management of dementia and other psychiatric disorders in nursing homes. Int Psychogeriatr. 1990 Spring;2(1):13–24. doi: 10.1017/s1041610290000266. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Smith E. L., Smith P. E., Gilligan C. Diet, exercise, and chronic disease patterns in older adults. Nutr Rev. 1988 Feb;46(2):52–61. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.1988.tb05387.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Spitzer W. O. State of science 1986: quality of life and functional status as target variables for research. J Chronic Dis. 1987;40(6):465–471. doi: 10.1016/0021-9681(87)90002-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Tinetti M. E., Speechley M. Prevention of falls among the elderly. N Engl J Med. 1989 Apr 20;320(16):1055–1059. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198904203201606. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Vallbona C., Baker S. B. Physical fitness prospects in the elderly. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1984 Apr;65(4):194–200. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wiklund I., Karlberg J. Evaluation of quality of life in clinical trials. Selecting quality-of-life measures. Control Clin Trials. 1991 Aug;12(4 Suppl):204S–216S. doi: 10.1016/s0197-2456(05)80024-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. da Silva P. P., Kachar B., Torrisi M. R., Brown C., Parkison C. Freeze-fracture cytochemistry: replicas of critical point-dried cells and tissues after fracture-label. Science. 1981 Jul 10;213(4504):230–233. doi: 10.1126/science.7244630. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Public Health Reports are provided here courtesy of SAGE Publications

RESOURCES