Skip to main content
Log in

The development of an individualized questionnaire measure of perceived impact of diabetes on quality of life: the ADDQoL

  • Published:
Quality of Life Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The objectives of the study were to design and develop a questionnaire to measure individuals' perceptions of the impact of diabetes on their quality of life (QoL). The design of the ADDQoL (Audit of Diabetes Dependent QoL) was influenced by patient-centred principles underlying the SEIQoL interview method. Respondents rate only personally-applicable life domains, indicating importance and impact of diabetes. Fifty-two out-patients with diabetes and 102 attending diabetes education open days provided data for psychometric analyses. Each of the 13 domain-specific ADDQoL items was relevant and important for substantial numbers of respondents. Factor analysis and Cronbach's α coefficient of internal consistency (0.85) supported combination of items into a scale. Insulin-treated patients reported greater impact of diabetes on QoL than tablet / diet-treated patients. People with microvascular complications showed, as expected, greater diabetes-related impairment of QoL than people without complications. Unlike other QoL measures, the ADDQoL is an individualized questionnaire measure of the impact of diabetes and its treatment on QoL. Preliminary evidence of reliability and validity is established for adults with diabetes. Findings suggest that the ADDQoL will be more sensitive to change and responsive to differences than generic QoL measures.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Williams DRR, Home PD, for the Diabetes Audit Working Group of the Research Unit of the Royal College of Physicians and the British Diabetic Association. A proposal for continuing audit of diabetes services. Diabetic Med 1992; 9: 759–764.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Wilson AE, Home PD, for the Diabetes Audit Working Group of the Research Unit of the Royal College of Physicians and the British Diabetic Association. Adataset to allow exchange of information for monitoring continuing diabetes care. Diabetic Med 1993; 10: 378–390.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Todd C, Bradley C, Symonds L, for the for the Diabetes Audit Working Group of the Research Unit of the Royal College of Physicians and the British Diabetic Association. Psychosocial measurement in the audit of diabetes services. Audit Trends 1993; 1: 141–143.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Bradley C. Measuring quality of life in diabetes. In: SM Marshall, PD Home, RA Rizza, eds. The Diabetes Annual/10. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science BV, 1996: 207–224.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Pielheimer W, Bullinger M, Kirchberger I et al. Evaluation of the quality of life of patients with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus before and after organ transplantation with the SF-36 health survey. Eur J Surg 1996; 162(12): 933–940.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Ware JL, Sherbourne CD. The MOS 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). I: conceptual framework and item selection. Med Care 1992; 30: 473–483.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Carrington AL, Mawdsley SK, Morley M et al. Psychological status of diabetic people with or without lower limb disability. Diab Res Clin Practice 1996; 32(1–2): 19–25.

    Google Scholar 

  8. McColl E, Steen IN, Meadows KA et al. Developing outcome measures for ambulatory care-an application to asthma and diabetes. Soc Sci Med 1995; 41(10): 1339–1348.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Bergner M, Bobbitt RA, Carter WB et al. The Sickness Impact Profile: development and final version of a health status measure. Med Care 1981; 19: 787–805.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Hunt SM, McEwan J, McKenna SP. Measuring Health Status. London: Croom Helm, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Parkerson GR Jr, Broadhead WE, Tse CK. Development of the 17-item Duke Health Profile. Family Practice 1991; 8: 396–401.

    Google Scholar 

  12. The EuroQoL Group. EuroQoL-a new facility for the measurement of health related quality of life. Health Policy 1990; 16: 199–203.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Jacobson AM, Diabetes Control and Complication Trial Research Group. The Diabetes Quality of Life Measure. In: Bradley C, ed. Handbook of Psychology and Diabetes: A Guide to Psychological Measurement in Diabetes Research and Practice. Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1994: 65–88.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Hörnquist JO, Wikby A, Hansson B et al. Quality of life: status and change (QLsc) reliability, validity and sensitivity of a generic assessment approach tailored for diabetes. Qual Life Res 1993; 2: 293–279.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Joyce CRB. Requirements for the assessment of individual quality of life. In: McGee HM, Bradley C, eds. Quality of Life Following Renal Failure: Psychosocial Challenges Accompanying High Technology Medicine. Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1994: 43–54.

    Google Scholar 

  16. McGee HM, O'Boyle CA, Hickey A et al. Assessing the quality of life of the individual: the SEIQoL with a healthy and with a gastroenterology unit population. Psychol Med 1991; 21: 749–759.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Walker J. Assessing quality of life in adolescents with diabetes: a comparison of patients' and nurses' assessments using two different methods of quality of life measurement (the DQoL and the SEIQoL). Unpublished psychology undergraduate project, Royal Holloway, University of London, 1993.

  18. Bradley C. What about quality of life? Balance 1994; 140: VIII-IX.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Todd C. Health-related quality of life as an outcome measure for health care of elderly people: the emperor's new clothes. In Heikkinen E, Kuusinen J, Ruoppila I, eds. Preparation for Ageing. New York: Plenum Press, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  20. DCCT Research Group. The effect of intensive treatment of diabetes on the development and progression of long term complications in insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med 1993; 329: 977–986.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Woodcock AJ, Bradley C, Kinmonth A-L et al. Quality of life in non-insulin-dependent diabetes: the effect of comorbidity. Diabetic Med 1996; 7(Suppl. 7): S14.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bradley, C., Todd, C., Gorton, T. et al. The development of an individualized questionnaire measure of perceived impact of diabetes on quality of life: the ADDQoL. Qual Life Res 8, 79–91 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026485130100

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026485130100

Navigation