Quality of Life : Perspectives and Policies

Concern about the quality of life and its measurement is probably greater now than ever before. The last five years have seen considerable changes in policy, particularly in health and social service markets bringing into question appropriate measures of input and output. The issues addressed in this volume range from the philosophical question of what the good life is, to detailed studies of what constitutes a good quality of life for particular client groups. Quality of Life will be valuable reading for researchers and practitioners in social policy, social work and economics. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Notes on contributors......Page 10 Preface to the paperback edition......Page 12 Acknowledgements......Page 14 INTRODUCTION......Page 16 COMMODITIES, CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMODITIES, CHARACTERISTICS OF PEOPLE, UTILITIES, AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE......Page 24 THE QUALITY OF LIFE: STARTING FROM ARISTOTLE......Page 43 THE QUALITY OF LIFE: A CONTRAST BETWEEN UTILITARIAN AND EXISTENTIALIST APPROACHES......Page 57 INTRODUCTION: WHAT ARE QALYs?......Page 72 ISSUES IN THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A QUALITY OF LIFE MEASURE......Page 78 MULTIDIMENSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF DISABLEMENT: A QUALITATIVE APPROACH......Page 87 THE SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF QALY MEASURES......Page 99 ECONOMIC APPROACHES TO MEASURING QUALITY OF LIFE: CONCEPTUAL CONVENIENCE OR METHODOLOGICAL STRAITJACKET?......Page 120 SPOUSE CARERS: WHOSE QUALITY OF LIFE?......Page 135 CARING AT HOME FOR CHILDREN WITH MENTAL HANDICAPS......Page 146 SECURITY AND AUTONOMY: CRITERIA FOR JUDGING THE QUALITY OF CARE OFFERED TO ADOLESCENTS IN TIME-LIMITED PLACEMENTS......Page 164 CHOICE AND SELF;DETERMINATION AS ASPECTS OF QUALITY OF LIFE IN PRIVATE SECTOR HOMES......Page 180 TESTING TOWNSEND: EXPLORING LIVING STANDARDS USING SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS......Page 194 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL CHOICE AND GOVERNMENT POLICY IN THE DECISION TO CONSUME HAZARDOUS GOODS......Page 216 THE QALY: HOW CAN IT BE USED?......Page 233 TREATING AIDS: IS IT ETHICAL TO BE EFFICIENT?......Page 246 Author Index......Page 265 Subject Index......Page 269 The papers presented here derive from a conference on the issue of quality of life held at the University of York November 1987. It is clear from the papers presented in this book that the conference identified a number of key issues. It is also clear that these cross disciplinary boundaries. The collection begins with an examination of the philosophical basis of the concept of quality of life. Part two of the book focuses on the development of a measure of quality of life that can be used in policy evaluation. A central issue is whether it is possible, useful, or appropriate to develop a single measure. In part three researchers from a number of disciplines draw on empirical research to examine aspects of quality of life in particular setting, institutional and non-institutional. The papers in the fourth and final section all address the interface between quality of life and government policy. The common theme across all three papers is the inter-relationship between individuals and society when resources are constrained This paper tries to set research into the quality of life - especially in the sub-territory of QALY research and health status measurement - into a wider context that taxonomizes concerns of both researchers and their customers, and of researchers coming from different disciplinary backgrounds, according to thing- and people-orientation. Social scientists address the issue of the quality of life through the experience of applied researchers; those engaged in theoretical debate and those engaged in policy analysis