Abstract
Quality of life has emerged as an essential health component that broadens the traditionally narrow concerns focused on only
morbidity and life expectancy. Although a growing number of tools to measure quality of life are in circulation, there is
a lack of guidelines as well as rigorous assessment for their use with pregnant and postpartum populations. It is also unclear
whether these instruments could validly be employed to measure patient-reported outcomes in comparative effectiveness research
of maternal care interventions. This paper reviews articles cited in CINAHL, COCHRANE, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, and PUBMED that addressed
quality of life in pregnant and postpartum populations. Instruments used to measure quality of life in selected articles were
assessed for their adherence to international guidelines for health outcomes instrument development and validation. The authors
identified 129 articles that addressed quality of life in pregnant and/or postpartum women. Out of these, only 64 quality
(generic and specific) scales were judged relevant to be included in this study. Analysis of measurement scales used in the
pregnant and/or postpartum populations revealed important validity, reliability and psychometric inadequacies that negate
their use in comparative effectiveness analysis in pregnant and post-partum populations. Valid, reliable, and responsive instruments
to measure patient-reported outcomes in pregnant and postpartum populations are lacking. To demonstrate the effectiveness
of various treatment and prevention programs, future research to develop and validate a robust and responsive quality of life
measurement scale in pregnant and postpartum populations is needed.
morbidity and life expectancy. Although a growing number of tools to measure quality of life are in circulation, there is
a lack of guidelines as well as rigorous assessment for their use with pregnant and postpartum populations. It is also unclear
whether these instruments could validly be employed to measure patient-reported outcomes in comparative effectiveness research
of maternal care interventions. This paper reviews articles cited in CINAHL, COCHRANE, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, and PUBMED that addressed
quality of life in pregnant and postpartum populations. Instruments used to measure quality of life in selected articles were
assessed for their adherence to international guidelines for health outcomes instrument development and validation. The authors
identified 129 articles that addressed quality of life in pregnant and/or postpartum women. Out of these, only 64 quality
(generic and specific) scales were judged relevant to be included in this study. Analysis of measurement scales used in the
pregnant and/or postpartum populations revealed important validity, reliability and psychometric inadequacies that negate
their use in comparative effectiveness analysis in pregnant and post-partum populations. Valid, reliable, and responsive instruments
to measure patient-reported outcomes in pregnant and postpartum populations are lacking. To demonstrate the effectiveness
of various treatment and prevention programs, future research to develop and validate a robust and responsive quality of life
measurement scale in pregnant and postpartum populations is needed.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-32
- DOI 10.1007/s11482-012-9188-4
- Authors
- Mulubrhan F. Mogos, Maternal & Child Health Comparative Effectiveness Research Group, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC 56, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
- Euna M. August, Maternal & Child Health Comparative Effectiveness Research Group, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC 56, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
- Abraham A. Salinas-Miranda, Maternal & Child Health Comparative Effectiveness Research Group, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC 56, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
- Dawood H. Sultan, Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC 56, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
- Hamisu M. Salihu, Maternal & Child Health Comparative Effectiveness Research Group, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC 56, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
- Journal Applied Research in Quality of Life
- Online ISSN 1871-2576
- Print ISSN 1871-2584