Quality of life questionnaires

Psychological General Well-Being Scale (PGWB)

Main reference: Dupuy HJ: The Psychological General Well-Being (PGWB) index. In: Wenger NK, Mattson ME, Furberg CD, Elinson J, editors. Assessment of Quality of Life in Clinical Trials of Cardiovascular Therapies, pp 170–183. New York: Le Jacq, 1984.

Type: Self- or interviewer-administered quality-of-life assessment.

Main indications: Designed to assess subjective psychological well-being or distress.

Rating performed by: A trained interviewer or the patient.

Time period covered by scale: The 4 weeks before the evaluation.

Time required to complete rating: 5–10 minutes.

Remarks: Assesses 22 items on anxiety, depression, vitality, positive well-being, self-discipline, and general health, with the possible score for each item ranging from 0 to 110. Its approach may be seen as more "positive" than other quality-of-life scales because it measures well-being rather than disability. A version for use in telephone interviews is also available.

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WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5)

Main reference: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. Wellbeing measures in primary health care: the Depcare Project. Report on a WHO Meeting, Stockholm, Sweden, 12–13 February 1998. WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen.

Type: Self-administered quality-of-life questionnaire.

Main indications: Designed to assess subjective quality of life.

Rating performed by: The patient.

Time period covered by scale: The 2 weeks before the evaluation.

Time required to complete rating: <5 minutes.

Remarks: Assesses five simple questions relating to cheerfulness, calmness, feelings of vigour, feelings of being well rested after sleep, and interest. The patient rates each question according to the proportion of time over the preceding 2 weeks that the attribute in question applies. The raw score ranges from 0 to 25, which is converted to a score from 0 to 100, 0 indicating the worst possible quality of life and 100 the best. The total score can be used as a measure of change, with a 10% difference between time points being clinically significant. The scale is recommended for use in primary care.