What it is: Quality of Life (QoL) is how a person feels about their life in relation to their goals, hopes, fears, values, and beliefs. So, QoL will mean different things to different people. It often includes:
- feeling valued and respected
- being comfortable and pain-free
- being able to socialise or spend time with family and friends
- being as independent as possible
- not feeling like a burden
- feeling supported.
Why it matters: QoL is part of palliative care. As a person’s illness deteriorates their QoL can worsen. Their ability to do what is important to them can change.
What I need to know: QoL is personal. What the older person values as part of QoL may not be the same as other people.
As their disease progresses, their QoL can change. The disease might stop them from doing their usual activities. It might mean they cannot socialise in the same way or form relationships with others. Changes in QoL may be slow with diseases like dementia that progress slowly (over a longer period).
Other people might not register a change in QoL. They may adapt to what is currently possible and not compare it to what they could do before.