Department of Psychiatry Centre for Participant Report Outcomes

What is Quality of Life (QoL)?

The World Health Organisation defines Quality of Life as:
"an individual's perception of his/her position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which he/she lives, and in relation to his/her goals, expectations, standards and concerns. It is a broad-ranging concept, incorporating in a complex way the person's physical health, psychological state, level of independence, social relationships, and their relationship to salient features of their environment"

(The WHOQoL Group (1994). The development of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument (the WHOQoL). In J. Orley and W. Kuyken Eds). Quality of Life Assessment: International Perspectives. Heidleberg: Springer-Verlag).

Quality of Life Instruments

This website is designed to help researchers who are thinking of using one of the following Quality of Life Instruments.

Contact Us

For more information about any of the instruments listed on this website, please contact:

A/Professor Graeme Hawthorne
Australian WHOQoL Field Centre
Department of Psychiatry
Level 1 North
Royal Melbourne Hospital
Grattan St.
Parkville
VIC 3050

Email: graemeeh@unimelb.edu.au