Quality of Life, exactly what does that mean?
J.K. Rowlings who writes the Harry Potter books, tells of her experience with her mother’s MS. More than the disease progression, it was the deterioration of the quality of life that affected her mother and therefore her family. That is an important point, one that we sometimes forget. It may be easier to accept a chronic disease progression than it is to accept the retrogression of quality of life. Further, when quality of life deteriorates, it is not only the person with the condition who is affected, but the family and extended family.
The degree to which a person enjoys the important possibilities of his or her life.
Source: The World Health Organization (WHO) Conceptual Framework
The perceived physical and mental health over time. A measure of the effects of chronic illness...and how an illness interferes with a person's everyday life.
Source: The Center for Disease Control (CDC) regarding health-related quality of life
Quality of Life does not pertain only to people with chronic illnesses. Healthy people with disabilities may experience a drop in their perceived life quality when access is denied or awkward, when other people stare or avoid them, or when an unfortunate choice of words makes them feel as if they do not belong in a group or place. Healthy people with no disability also experience changes in their perceived quality of life for a variety of reasons; e.g. loss of job or income, environmental conditions, crime, etc.
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