Instrument Title
Spitzer Quality of Life Index
View PDF - Spitzer QoL Index_Spitzer.pdf
Source Article
Spitzer, W. O., Dobson, A. J., Hall, J., Chesterman, E., Levi, J., Shepherd, R., et al. (1981). Measuring the quality of life of cancer patients: A concise QL-index for use by physicians. Name Journal of Chronic Diseases, 34(12), 585.
Response Options
Score each heading 2, 1, or 0 according to your most recent assessment of the patient (the meaning of the response values varies with each question, see below)
Survey Items
Activity
During the last week, the patient…
- has been working or studying full-time, or nearly so, in usual occupation; or managing own household; or participating in unpaid or voluntary activities, whether retired or not (2)
- has been working or studying in usual occupation or managing own household or participating in unpaid or voluntary activities; but requiring major assistance or a significant reduction in hours worked or a sheltered situation or was on sick leave (1)
- has not been working or studying in any capacity and not managing own household (0)
Daily Living
During the last week, the patient…
- has been self-reliant in eating, washing, toileting and dressing; using public transport or driving own car (2)
- has been requiring assistance (another person or special equipment) for daily activities and transport but performing light tasks (1)
- has not been managing personal care nor light tasks and/or not leaving own home or institution at all (0)
Health
During the last week, the patient…
- has been appearing to feel well or reporting feeling “great” most of the time (2)
- has been lacking energy or not feeling entirely “up to par” more than just occasionally (1)
- has been feeling very ill or “lousy,” seeming weak and washed out most of the time or was unconscious (0)
Support
During the last week…
- the patient has been having good relationships with others and receiving strong support from at least one family member and/or friend (2)
- support received or perceived has been limited from family and friends and/or by the patient’s condition (1)
- support from family and friends occurred infrequently or only when absolutely necessary or patient was unconscious (0)
Outlook
During the past week the patient…
- has usually been appearing calm and positive in outlook, accepting and in control of personal circumstances, including surroundings (2)
- has sometimes been troubled because not fully in control of personal circumstances or has been having periods of obvious anxiety or depression (1)
- has been seriously confused or frightened or consistently anxious and depressed or unconscious (0)
How confident are you that your scoring of the preceding dimensions is accurate? Please select the appropriate category:
Absolutely Confident (1), Very Confident (2), Quite Confident (3), Not Very Confident (4), Very Doubtful (5), Not at All Confident (6)
Internal Reliability
Cronbach's alpha = 0.775)
Validity
Convergent discriminant and content validity
Google Scholar
View article on Google Scholar
Terms Of Use
Individuals may use this information for research or educational purposes only and may not use this information for commercial purposes. When using this instrument, please cite:
Spitzer, W. O., Dobson, A. J., Hall, J., Chesterman, E., Levi, J., Shepherd, R., et al. (1981). Measuring the quality of life of cancer patients: A concise QL-index for use by physicians. Name Journal of Chronic Diseases, 34(12), 585.
When presenting results using any survey information you obtained from the SABI, please acknowledge the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), an NIH funded program P30 AI50410.