Quality of life assessment in intellectual disabilities: the Escala Pessoal de Resultados versus the World Health Quality of Life-BREF.
Two QOL scales can both be reliable yet measure different things, so match the tool to the question.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Simões et al. (2015) compared two quality-of-life tools for adults with intellectual disability. One tool was the Escala Pessoal de Resultados. The other was the World Health Quality of Life-BREF.
They gave both scales to the same group of adults. Then they checked reliability and validity. They also looked at whether the two scales gave similar scores.
What they found
Both scales were reliable and valid. Yet they gave different scores to adults with moderate ID. This means each scale measures a different view of quality of life.
The tools are not interchangeable. Choosing one changes the story you get about a client’s life satisfaction.
How this fits with other research
Balboni et al. (2013) showed that caregiver reports can stand in when clients cannot speak for themselves. Cristina’s work adds that even when clients can self-report, the tool you pick still matters.
Pickard et al. (2022) extended this idea by showing how tech adaptations help adults with ID complete self-reports. Their study moves from comparing scales to making any scale easier to use.
Nevin et al. (2005) warned us to ask who, what, and why before picking a QOL measure. Cristina’s data prove that advice is still needed. The two scales pass psychometric checks yet tell different tales.
Why it matters
Before your next annual plan, decide what part of quality of life you care about. If you want personal outcomes like friends and daily choices, use EPR. If you want health and environment ratings, use WHOQOL-BREF. Do not swap them mid-program. Pick one and stay with it so your data stay clean.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The aim of this study is to compare the applications of the Escala Pessoal de Resultados (EPR) and the World Health Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) in quality of life (QOL) assessment of people with intellectual disabilities (ID). A total of 216 adults with ID were assessed (age ranging from 18 to 64 years; 128 people were diagnosed with mild, and 88 with moderate ID). The two scales were administered to each person to obtain their perception about their QOL. Statistically significant correlations (weak to moderate) were observed between both scales. The EPR and the WHOQOL-BREF demonstrated adequate reliability, construct, and discriminant validity in our sample. However, the group of adults with moderate ID scored higher on the WHOQOL-BREF than on the EPR. Results indicated that the two assessment instruments aim to evaluate different measures, and seem to be not interchangeable.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.11.010