Quality of life

Quality of life (QOL) is a popular term that conveys an overall
sense of well-being, including aspects of happiness and satisfaction with life as a whole. It is broad and subjective rather than specific and objective. What makes it so challenging to measure is that, although the term “quality of life” has meaning for nearly everyone and every academic discipline, what it actually means is somewhat different for each individual and group. How do you reach accord about a measure for quality of life? Perhaps the strongest area of a consensus is that quality of life is extraordinarily broad and conceptually complex, yet
measures are most meaningful when they measure key concepts in a logical way and are as precise as possible.

A lot of later life care is centred on the family. A member of a family, usually an adult daughter or son, informally care for an older parent. Families often include people who are biological kin but who hold a similar status – ‘fictive kin’. For example, a long-term neighbour or friend from school might be known as an Aunty or Uncle. Often the biological child or ‘fictive kin’ is the ‘go-between’ between older parent(s) and formal care services. They perform an essential role in maintaining the dignity and independence of the older person(s) and facilitate access into and out of care services. However, over the last few decades there has been a change in the shape of families. This change is linked to long-term decline in fertility rate, the rise in the age of mortality, economics, increase in divorce rate and stepfamilies. Not only are families smaller than they once were but there is an increase in number of people ageing without children.

"ABSTRACT


Objective: My objective was to investigate the experiences of women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.

Method: I did a qualitative study based on interview data. Fourteen women with metastatic breast cancer were recruited into a larger study of online support group use. Participants were interviewed by phone.

Results: The women indicated that they experience distress because of concerns about body image, declines in aspects of their sexual lives, and worries about the effect of stress on their illness. The stress that worries these women comes from fear of dying, fear of disease progression and debilitation, the loss of their future, and practical concerns. The women were also likely to experience a decline in daily activity after being diagnosed with metastatic disease. They become less active because of the physical symptoms of the illness and the side effects of treatments, the medicalization of their lifestyle, their desire to avoid stressful situations, the constraints imposed by their social world, and the need to maintain disability benefits. Although women are often in need of emotional and material support from others after they are diagnosed, social support can decrease, both because women find it difficult to be open about the difficulties they face and because the responses of others are not adequately supportive. Distress and declines in daily activity and social support can feed into each other to create a vicious circle.

Significance of results: This paper makes a significant contribution to the literature by providing a rich description of how metastatic breast cancer affects women. Further research, with more diverse samples, is needed in this understudied area."

The primary aim of the proposed study is to examine the efficacy of an 8-month supervised, high-intensity progressive resistance training and impact loading programme in comparison with a supervised machine-based isometric exercise training programme using the bioDensity system in older men with low bone mass. We will also determine the safety and acceptability of each exercise training mode. Intervention group responses will be compared with those of a self-selected, non-randomised control sample of sex-matched and age-matched men who will follow their usual lifestyle activities for 8 months. Apparently healthy men over 50 years with low bone mass, screened for medical conditions and medications known to adversely affect bone health, will be recruited. Eligible participants will be randomly allocated to 8 months of either exercise programme with block randomisation based on presence or absence of osteoporosis medications. A twice-weekly, 30-minute, supervised exercise programme wil...

Parkinson's disease (PD) has a progressive course and is characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. Although no neuroprotective treatments for PD have been found to date, the endocannabinoid system has emerged as a promising target. From a sample of 119 patients consecutively evaluated in a specialized movement disorders outpatient clinic, we selected 21 PD patients without dementia or comorbid psychiatric conditions. Participants were assigned to three groups of seven subjects each who were treated with placebo, cannabidiol (CBD) 75 mg/day or CBD 300 mg/day. One week before the trial and in the last week of treatment participants were assessed in respect to (i) motor and general symptoms score (UPDRS); (ii) well-being and quality of life (PDQ-39); and (iii) possible neuroprotective effects (BDNF and H(1)-MRS). We found no statistically significant differences in UPDRS scores, plasma BDNF levels or H(1)-MRS measures. However, the groups treated with placebo and C...

Soo Hyun Jun , Heather J. Hartwell , and Dimitrios Buhalis 2012
Impacts of the Internet on Travel Satisfaction
and Overall Life Satisfaction, Chapter 19 in Uysal, M., R. Perdue and J. Sirgy. (Eds) (2012). Handbook of Tourism and Quality-of-Life Research: Enhancing the Lives of Tourists and Residents of Host Communities. The Netherlands, Springer, Dordrecht, 702 pages, Hardcover, ISBN 978-94-007-2287-3

This chapter proposed two conceptual models which explored the impact of the Internet on travel satisfaction and overall life satisfaction. The first model (Fig. 19.4 ) focused on the Internet role when it was considered as a tool for travel planning at a pretrip stage, and the second model (Fig. 19.5 ) focused on the Internet role when it was considered as a social platform on a Web 2.0 environment where people shared travel information after a trip, communicated, and socialized

with others. This chapter found two signifi cant roles of the Internet in satisfaction formation and satisfaction modifi cation (Fig. 19.6 ). In terms of satisfaction formation, the greater amount of transparent and reliable information collected through the Internet at the pretrip stage helps individuals adjust expectations to be realistic, and the realistic expectation leads to reduce the negative satisfaction disconfi rmation and maintain a higher level of satisfaction. In terms of satisfaction
modifi cation, postconsumption experiences at the social platform reconstruct previous memories
and accordingly modify satisfaction. The modifi ed satisfaction eventually infl uences overall life satisfaction.

This chapter contributes to the QOL research because it suggests the alternative independent variables of travel satisfaction and overall life satisfaction, which are in fi ve need constructs and can be measured through survey research methods. Future studies should be conducted to test the two proposed models. The proposed models in this chapter focus on pretrip behavior and posttrip behavior. However, the Internet with mobile technology and location-based technology is increasingly
playing a signifi cant role in travel satisfaction at the during-trip stage. Future study should be conducted to explore the Internet role at this stage and its impacts on travel satisfaction and overall life satisfaction.

Understanding subjective well-being (SWB) has historically been a core human endeavor and presently spans fields from management to mental health. Previous meta-analyses have indicated that personality traits are one of the best predictors. Still, these past results indicate only a moderate relationship, weaker than suggested by several lines of reasoning. This may be because of commensurability, where researchers have grouped together substantively disparate measures in their analyses. In this article, the authors review and address this problem directly, focusing on individual measures of personality (e.g., the Neuroticism-Extroversion-Openness Personality Inventory; P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992) and categories of SWB (e.g., life satisfaction). In addition, the authors take a multivariate approach, assessing how much variance personality traits account for individually as well as together. Results indicate that different personality and SWB scales can be substantively different and that the relationship between the two is typically much larger (e.g., 4 times) than previous meta-analyses have indicated. Total SWB variance accounted for by personality can reach as high as 39% or 63% disattenuated. These results also speak to meta-analyses in general and the need to account for scale differences once a sufficient research base has been generated.

Background and aims. This thesis took a life course approach to examining inequalities in quality of life in early old age using the French occupational cohort GAZEL. The cohort combines company administrative records with information from annual questionnaires for 20 625 electricity and gas industry employees. The thesis aimed to examine whether current circumstances, retirement routes, mid-life working conditions or occupational grade were associated with subjective quality of life, measured with CASP-19, in retired participants.

Results. Cross-sectional and change analyses using multiple regression demonstrated that social support, financial adequacy and, above all, mental and physical health were strongly associated with quality of life.
There was a graded relationship between occupational grade in mid-life and quality of life following labour market exit, a relationship which was largely accounted for by health and financial circumstances in retirement.
After adjusting for occupational grade and social class, exposures to physical hazards and ergonomic strain were associated with lower quality of life following retirement; accumulated exposures to carcinogens were not. Pathways from working conditions to poorer quality of life via physical and mental health accounted for the associations between earlier strenuous and dangerous working conditions and quality of life following retirement.
Retiring tended to improve subjective quality of life, particularly if it was from difficult psychosocial working conditions. Retiring in ill health was associated with worse quality of life; this retirement route was more likely for individuals who had poor working conditions.
Continuing professional activities after retirement was associated with better quality of life, a retirement route more likely for individuals working in higher grades.

Conclusions. The thesis demonstrated small but persistent life course influences of employment characteristics upon quality of life which appeared to be mediated via current determinants of quality of life.

A multicenter, 2-visit, open-label, 4-week study was conducted to determine the acceptability of hydroxypropyl cellulose ophthalmic inserts in adult patients with a history of dry eye syndrome (DES). At visit 1, patients (N = 520) were evaluated, screened by slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and completed the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), a validated measure of quality of life. Patients were trained in the proper placement and use of hydroxypropyl cellulose ophthalmic inserts and were contacted by telephone on day 3 of the study. At week 4, patients were given a clinical evaluation and completed a second questionnaire. Answers determined changes in symptoms and quality of life. Adverse events were monitored throughout the study. Four hundred eighteen patients completed the study and reported significant improvements in discomfort, burning, dryness, grittiness, stinging, and light sensitivity (P = .05) after 4 weeks use of hydroxypropyl cellulose ophthalmic inserts. Significant improve...

Historically, the rules governing red meat food safety in the U.S. were driven as much by global trade and industry rationalization as by food safety. Contemporary and historical documents, statutes, and regulations; a survey of producer and farmers' market representatives; and key informant interviews show that these rules, and their implementation, have affected the current development of niche marketing opportunities. Three significant issues arise from this research: a) the elimination of the state meat inspections limits producer access to slaughter; b) the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) rule limits producer access to processing; and c) uncertainty at the local level limits producer access to direct markets. We conclude that the accumulated rules affect producers' quality of life; and they raise several issues about the relationship between sustainability and policy including barrier mitigation, balancing competing qualities, and the effects of the ...

Quality of life (QOL) has become a central issue of concern in peoples’ lives and the research on this topic has largely increased in the past decades. However, some studies on QOL only adopted objective indicators and QOL research is still very scarce in some fields of study such as tourism. Additionally, in tourism, the majority of the studies on QOL focus on assessing the QOL of residents of destinations and neglect segmentation based on QOL as a tool for market segmentation.
The aim of this study is to overcome some previously referred to limitations and, specifically: (i) to measure visitors’ perceptions of tourism impact on their QOL by adopting subjective indicators; and (ii) to segment visitors based on perceptions of tourism impact on their QOL.
Study results reveal that tourism is likely to have a more positive impact on the psychological and social domains of QOL and that QOL is a good basis for segmenting the tourism market. Visitors perceiving more positive tourism impacts in their QOL differ from others on several features such as motivations to travel, travel group, interaction with local residents and satisfaction with the trip.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been recently recognized as a leading cause of pituitary dysfunction. Current data clearly demonstrated that sports related head trauma due to boxing, kickboxing, and soccer might results in pituitary hormone deficiencies, isolated growth hormone (GH) deficiency in particular. In the present report physiologic dose GH replacement therapy (GHRT) was performed in two GH deficient retired amateur boxers for the first time. The boxers received recombinant GH for 6 months. After 6 months of GHRT there were substantial improvements, but not complete normalization, in the body composition parameters, lipid profiles and quality of life scores in both boxers. These preliminary results suggest that GHRT may have beneficial effects in retired boxers with severe isolated GH deficiency due to sports related head trauma. But more data with higher number of boxers and longer GHRT duration are warranted.

A society’s and individuals’ quality of life has long been in the focus of social science research. The subjective aspect of one’s quality of life is usually assessed through a person’s perceived satisfaction with their own life. In comparison, the indicators and methodological approaches used by researchers trying to objectively measure quality of life are more varied and complex. However, both the correct identification of the factors influencing objective quality of life and the longitudinal evaluation of quality of life on the local level have remained a serious challenge.
The paper presents the results of a study carried out by the HAS Geographical Research Institute in co-operation with the Kodolányi János University of Applied Sciences that aims to provide deeper understanding of tourism-oriented quality of life in Hungary. Although the research raised a large number of new questions as well, in this paper we discuss the development mechanisms of an indicator system that may fit within the currently used system of social indicators and may provide useful information on the interrelationship of tourism and quality of life. The development of the indicator system includes the delineation of the research area, the creation of the related dimensions and sub-dimensions, and finally the identification of indicators within the sub-dimensions. The indicator system is based on data
available at the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, derived from regular data collection methods. Due to the obvious symbiosis of health and quality of life, a special emphasis is put on measuring tourism-oriented quality of life factors at Hungarian health tourism destinations.