Health-Related Quality of Life and Culture

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soncn.2009.11.008Get rights and content

Objective

To clarify the relationship between quality of life (QOL) and culture.

Data Source

Journal articles, proceedings, and clinical experience.

Conclusion

QOL is a subjective, multidimensional experience of well-being that is culturally constructed as individuals seek safety and security, a sense of integrity and meaning in life, and a sense of belonging in one's social network.

Implications for Nursing Practice

In a society where health disparities between diverse groups are known to exist, it is incumbent upon nurses to consider the impact of ethnicity/culture on the health care they deliver and on the QOL of their patients.

Section snippets

Definitions of Culture and QOL

The influence of culture on one's QOL is often assumed to be synonymous with race. Because culture, as described in this article, is a major contextual determinant of QOL, we provide a set of definitions of culture, race, ethnicity, and racism that highlights the differences and identifies the shortcomings in current measures and strategies in research and practice that confound these terms. A discussion of QOL and HRQOL follow.

Relevance and Usefulness of Cross-Cultural Comparisons

Examining HRQOL across cultures helps the scientist and clinician to better understand the construct and its utility for particular groups. Cross-culturally appropriate and valid measures of HRQOL are necessary before cross-national/cross-cultural studies can proceed. However, most generic instruments of HRQOL tend to be biased in the direction of the culture in which they were developed and tested. It is inappropriate to assume that dimensions of HRQOL are identical or comparable across

Reliability of Group Identification Labels and Implications for Evidence-Based Practice

Race/ethnicity classification schemes are prone to inconsistencies and errors. For example, many hospital staff lack the knowledge and training to accurately collect race and ethnicity data.48 These errors and inconsistencies can translate into results with questionable validity, resulting in poor allocation of resources for the prevention and treatment of diseases in specific race/ethnic groups. Broad racial/ethnic categories are not culturally valid. For example, when it comes to reliance on

Conclusion

HRQOL is a subjective, multidimensional experience that involves a summary evaluation of positive and negative attributes, such as health and illness conditions, that characterize one's life.49 QOL is culturally constructed as individual's seek to fulfill the three universal needs for: (1) safety and security, (2) a sense of integrity and meaning or purpose in life, and (3) a sense of belonging as an integral member of one's social network.17, 50 Evaluations of these life attributes are

Marjorie Kagawa-Singer, RN, PhD: Professor, University of California Los Angeles, School of Public Health and Department of Asian American Studies, Los Angeles, CA.

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    Marjorie Kagawa-Singer, RN, PhD: Professor, University of California Los Angeles, School of Public Health and Department of Asian American Studies, Los Angeles, CA.

    Geraldine V. Padilla, PhD: Professor Emerita, University of California San Francisco, School of Nursing, Department of Physiological Nursing, San Francisco, CA.

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