Quality 0f Life General (QGEN^®) Summary

Quality of Life General (QGEN®) is a new survey developed by JWRG that measures eight health-related quality of life (HRQOL) domains, including functioning (physical, role, and social) and feelings (pain, vitality, and emotional well-being). The QGEN items improve Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) short-form (SF) items by increasing response category ranges for the three functioning domains and constructing items directly measuring the three higher-order feeling domains MH and VT factors. Results include improved item efficiency, response categories that increase score range and reduced ceiling effects.

QGEN single-item measures are scored to provide an unbiased estimates of average scores for he profile of SF-36 multi-item scales measuring the same eight domains. QGEN items are also used to estimate SF-36 physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) summary scores and the SF-6D health utility index. As with all MOS short forms, higher scores indicate better functioning and well-being. Profiles and summary scores are transformed to have mean=50 and SD=10 in the general US population using 2020 norms. This enables meaningful comparisons with three decades of population norms, published effect sizes, minimally important differences, and other interpretation guidelines.

One of the key advantages of QGEN is its efficiency. In comparison with SF-36 and comparable (e.g., PROMIS) multi-item short-forms measuring common general domains, US general population and clinical studies have shown that the eight-item QGEN reduces survey administration time by more than 75%, to about 1 minute for most respondents. This makes it a convenient and efficient option for measuring HRQOL. The QGEN’s comparability with widely used MOS metrics enables meaningful comparison with many published studies.

With the same objective in mind, QDIS also aims to improve the efficiency of single-item-per-domain (SIPD) health-related quality of life (QOL) measurement. Similar to QGEN, the QDIS survey reduces survey administration time by more than 75% compared to SF-36 and comparable multi-item short-forms measuring common general domains. This makes QDIS a convenient and efficient option for measuring HRQOL, enabling representation of essential QOL domains in surveys with severe respondent burden constraints. The comparability of QDIS with widely used MOS metrics also allows for meaningful comparison with a large number of published studies.

JWRG’s objective is to increase the efficiency of single-item-per-domain (SIPD) health-related quality of life (QOL) enough to enable representation of essential QOL domains in surveys with severe respondent burden constraints.