There has been growing interest in the concept and measurement of quality of life in recent years, originally in the field of general health care, and more recently in community mental health. Measures designed to assess quality of life have been used to assess individual clients' problems, to assess the needs of a particular population, or for research purposes. However there is no generally agreed definition of quality of life itself, or of its associated constructs. As a result of this many ways are used to assess quality of life, ranging from those measures which are generally 'objective', using checklists or rating scales, to those which assess quality of life with little or no predetermined structure for the results. The purpose of this selective review is to focus on some of the range of definitions and concepts of quality of life and approaches to its measurement, with a view to illuminating the most appropriate approaches (both for clinical and research purposes) in the field of community care of those with enduring psychiatric illness.
