Quality of life from the epidemiologic perspective

In summary, from the epidemiologic perspective, the conference made it clear that:

• 1.

  (1) In modern occcurence research in medicine, quality of life is an important aspect of health outcome, along with duration of life; and it is of interest as a determinant of outcome as well.

• 2.

  (2) The concept of quality of life remains ill-defined but is, in the medical sense, some aggregate representation of disability discomfort, and distress resulting from illness and/or medical action.

• 3.

  (3) In medicine, quality of life is, in concept, specific to various types of clinical situation; and empirical scales need to be similarly situation-specific.

• 4.

  (4) Whereas clinical research on quality of life is already being conducted successfully, further development of scales specific to particular types of clinical situation remains a challenge to theorists of quality of life, as well as to experts on clinimetrics who collaborate with clinical specialists.