The quality of life concept among Palliative Care professionals

Background: health-related quality of life (QoL) may have different meanings when interpreted intuitively, methodologically, or as the result of a questionnaire. Objective: to know the intuitive QoL concept in palliative care professionals regarding both the patients they treat and themselves, and to determine whether such concept is consistent with the measures provided by validated questionnaires. Material and methods: a mixed qualitative and quantitative study was performed in palliative care professionals. An open question asked about their intuitive understanding of QoL for terminal patients and themselves. They did an estimation of the relative weight of different domains, and the influence of several problems. These results were compared to the profile of the QLQ-C15-PAL questionnaire. Results: the estimated most important component of QoL in patients was symptom control, followed by personal dignity, family support, and quality of care. This profile is divergent from that of QLQ-C15-PAL, which is focused on symptoms and performance status. Regarding the QoL of professionals themselves, the most relevant domains were health, ability to enjoy, family, and personal relations. Conclusions: the intuitive QoL profile estimated by palliative care professionals is different for patients and for themselves. This intuitive concept is not consistent with the model presented by specific QoL questionnaires for palliative-care patients.