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Page 1 of 15 Quality of Life Evaluation: The King's Health Questionnaire Arasee Renganathan, MBBS MRCOG1 | Dudley Robinson, MD MRCOG1 | Linda Cardozo, MD FRCOG1 | |
Abstract Urinary incontinence is a distressing and disabling condition causing significant morbidity affecting 15-30% of women of all ages. Research has often concentrated on the diagnosis and management of urinary incontinence with little understanding of the effects of this chronic condition, or its treatment, on quality of life (QoL). The King’s Health Questionnaire has been specifically developed to assess the impact of urinary incontinence on the quality of life in women. It forms a useful adjunct to history and clinical examination and can be used in both clinical trials and clinical practice to evaluate improvement provided by different forms of treatment.
Introduction
Urinary incontinence is a distressing and disabling condition causing significant morbidity within society in addition to affecting the social, psychological, occupational, domestic, physical and sexual lives of 15-30% of women of all ages1 .
Research has often concentrated on the prevalence, aetiology, diagnosis and management of urinary incontinence with little understanding of the effects of this chronic condition, or its treatment, on quality of life (QoL). Over the last decade interest in the incorporation of patient assessed health status or QoL measures into the evaluation of the management of urinary incontinence has increased2.
Quality of Life
The World health Organisation (WHO, 1978) has defined health as ‘not merely the absence of disease, but complete physical, mental and social wellbeing3 . It is a multi-dimensional concept and has come to mean a combination of patient assessed measures of health including physical function, role function, social function, emotional or mental state, burden of symptoms and sense of wellbeing4 .
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