HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) – WHAT IT IS AND HOW IT IS MEASURED: STUDIES FROM THE WORLD AND COMPARISON WITH PAKISTAN

Objectives: A narrated review was conducted to (a) identify the most frequently used health-related quality of life (HRQOL) tools worldwide and (b) comparisons of those tool and their usage in Pakistan. Methods: The online search engines were consulted using the included and predefined criteria. We reviewed titles, abstracts, and then full-text articles related to their relevance to this review. Then, the most commonly used tools have been identified, reviewed discussed. Results: Of 865 titles identified, 153 articles from various countries met the inclusion criteria. The most frequently used HRQOL tools were: EQ5D, SF and WHOQOL. Out of these EQ5D and SF tools mostly used in studies conducted in Pakistan. Conclusion: It is evident that disease-specific studies have been conducted in Pakistan by using various tools, however, no population norms ever reported in Pakistan. Keywords: qol, hrqol, norms, pro, generic tools, disease specific tools