Notice to Readers: Publication of Report on Validation and Use of
Measures of Health-Related Quality of Life
CDC recently published "Measuring Healthy Days: Population Assessment
of Health-Related Quality of Life," the first comprehensive report to describe the
validity and use of a set of survey measures developed by CDC and partners to
track population health status and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in states
and communities (1). The report is intended for public health professionals involved
or interested in HRQOL surveillance or measurement. The report identifies the policy
and conceptual origins of a brief set of healthy days HRQOL measures developed for
use as public health outcome measures and summarizes the results of studies to test
the measures' accuracy and consistency.
During January 1993--December 2000, approximately 1 million U.S. adults
were
asked Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System questions on self-rated
health, recent physical and mental health, and activity limitations. State and local
health officials can use the measures and data to help achieve the two major goals of
the national health objectives for 2010: improve the quality and years of healthy life
and eliminate health disparities. States and communities are encouraged to use
the measures to identify subgroups of persons with poor perceived health and to use
that information to identify population health trends and disparities, define disease
burden, allocate resources based on unmet needs, and evaluate disease prevention
efforts. The report is available on the World-Wide Web, http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/hrqol.
Reference
CDC. Measuring healthy days: population assessment of health-related quality of
life. Atlanta, Georgia: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, November 2000.
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