Methodological bases of life quality assessment

In the article, some methodological bases for life quality assessment are discussed. Life quality is most often identified as a dependent variable conditioned by the disease development and treatment, and by psychological and social factors. A particular life quality assessment is subjective and should be done by the patient themselves. On the other hand research reveals substantial differences between a patient’s subjective life quality perception and a clinician’s objective evaluation. It is therefore advisable to compare and combine both, as it enriches interpretation and helps a patient reach for their own internal resources to improve their life quality or to identify factors that affect it negatively. For reliable outcomes of clinical life quality assessments, standardised measurement tools are indispensable. Tools designed in foreign languages must be appropriately cross-culturally adapted for Polish circumstances and their questionnaires must meet psychometric standards, i.e. reliability an validity. Methodology standards for life quality stud­ies have been set by The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer in their work on life-quality-assessment research tools. In addition, in examining people who are chronically and often seriously ill, patient’s overall condition and needs must be taken into consideration. Examining should not cause patient’s excessive effort or unnecessary discomfort in the necessity of answering disturbing questions.