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. 2017 Dec 21;8(2):348–368. doi: 10.4338/ACI-2016-10-R-0175

Table 3.

Summary of Quality of Life instruments used in eligible studies

Study Instrument Type Description (domains/subscales/items/scores)
Gustafson, 1994 Not reported Generic Eight dimensions: social support, cognitive functioning, active life, active participating in health care, negative emotions, depression, physical functioning, and level of energy Average quality of life score compared
Huang, 2013 WHOQOL-HIV BREF HIV-specific Six domains and 29 items:

  1. 4 items physical well-being;

  2. 5 items psychological status;

  3. 4 items level of independence;

  4. 4 items social relationships;

  5. 8 items environment;

  6. 4 items spirituality/religion/personal beliefs
Score range from 4–20, high score indicates better QoL
Leon, 2011 Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) Generic Five domains
mental and physical health, cognitive and social functioning, energy levels and vitality, perceived social support, sleep and sexuality
130 questions with only “yes” or “no” answers
Score range from 1–100, high score indicates better QoL
Mbuagbaw, 2012 Short Form-12 (SF-12) Generic Two composite and 12 items: physical health and mental health composite scores ranging from 0–100, where a zero score indicates the lowest level of health measured by the scales and 100 indicates the highest level of health
Millard, 2015 Patient Reported OutcomesQuality of Life – HIV (PROQOL-HIV) HIV-specific Eight domains:

  1. physical health and symptoms;

  2. body change;

  3. social relationships;

  4. intimate relationships;

  5. stigma;

  6. emotional distress;

  7. health concerns, and

  8. treatment impact
Proeschold-Bell, 2010 Short Form-36 (SF-36) Generic Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36
36 items
Two composite: physical component summary and the mental component summary
8 subscales: physical functioning, role functioning (physical and emotional), bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, and mental health
Ranging from 0–100, with 100 indicating better health
Pyne, 2011 Quality of Well-Being Self-administered Scale (QWB-SA) Generic Four domains: physical activities, social activities, mobility, and symptom/problem complexes (no description in the study)
The QWB-SA score is derived from general population preference weights and ranges from death (0.0) to perfect health (1.0), combined the four domain scores into a total score
Robbins, 2013 AIDS Clinical TrialsGroup (ACTG) Multidimensional Health Status and the Quality of Life (QL0601–0602) HIV-specific The ACTG QL0601–0602:

  • QL0601 Overall Health Status Assessment

  • QL0602 Multidimensional Health Status Assessment
Nine domains with 21 items: overall health, general health perceptions, physical functioning, role functioning, pain, social functioning, mental health, energy, cognitive functioning Eight of the 9 subscales are scored as summated rating scales on a 0 – 100 scale where higher scores indicate better health
Wang, 2010 WHOQOL-BREF (Chinese versions) Generic 26-item multiple-choice questionnaire (ranging from 4–20)

  1. 1 item for general QoL and 1 item for health-related QoL

  2. 24 items belonging to four domains: 7 items physical, 6 items psychological, 3 items social and 8 items environmental
Wu, 2006 Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey (MOS-HIV) HIV-specific QoL Scales including the MOS-HIV with the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs), and additional role-functioning items
MOS-HIV: 10 dimensions of health-related QoL: pain, physical function, role function, social function, mental health, energy/fatigue, health distress, cognitive function, health perception, and overall QoL, ranging from 0 indicating the lowest possible score (poorest health) to 100 indicating the highest possible score (best health)
CES-D: 20 items of guilt and loneliness, appetite, sleep, psychomotor problems, mood, and depressive symptoms, using a four-point scale that ranges from 0 (rarely or none of the time) to 3 (most or all of the time)
IADLs: 15 items assessed patients’ abilities to perform everyday tasks such as dressing, bathing, money management, home care, and eating, ranging from 0 (yes, without help) to 2 (no, unable to do). Additional role function items: 4 items from the SF-36