Fahim Aslam
Heath Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) is defined as the awareness of an individuals’ status in life and his/her relationship with the surroundings he/she lives. HRQOLis becominga significant tool in patients suffering from chronic diseases inorder to evaluate the responses of a treatment and adjust the treatment options based on an individuals’ physical, emotional and social requirements. HRQOLis assessed in patients though different types of assessing methods namely, the Dartmouth COOP Functional Assessment Charts, Duke Health Profile, Health Assessment Questionnaire, Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), Sickness Impact Profile and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL-100). Accordingly, SF-36 is the method used more often for assessing HRQOL in a more general view. The SF-36 is questionnaire that consists of 36 items which includes 8 subscales and 2 component scores and evaluates physical, mental and social well-being along with psychological state and general health using a set of standard questions. One such chronic disease which relies on QOL, specifically on the Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQOL) is the Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). CKD is a condition where there is a progressive kidney failure through five important stages that are named from stage one to five which usually results due to common causes like diabetes and hypertension or otherwise due to aging and obesityand results in complications like hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular risk, anemia, decreased quality of life, premature mortality and metabolic bone disease. The specific type of questionnaire used to assess CKD is called the KDQOL-SF which includes the questions of SF-36 along with a set of chronic kidney disease specific dimensions. It contains 12 scales to describe 43 items which includes the symptoms, effects of kidney disease, burden of kidney disease, work status, cognitive function, quality of social interaction, sexual function, sleep, Social support, dialysis staff support, overall health and patient satisfaction. Thus, the state and effect of CKD can be deeply assessed based on the personal perspective of each patient. Some studies have already proven that KDQOL-SF is a worthy tool, for example a study by Senanayake et al. used a modified version of a KDQOL questionnaire at renal clinics in Polonnaruwa and concluded that the questionnaire is a valid and reliable method of assessing CKD patients in Sri Lanka. An
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