ABSTRACT
The term ‘quality of life’ (QOL) is commonly used to refer to the patient’s perception of the effect of illness and its treatment on his life. Before 1979, there were less than 200 articles per year in which the term ‘quality of life’ appeared in titles or abstracts searched by MEDLINE. Since 1992
there have been in excess of 2000 articles per year with quality of life in the title, key words, or abstract. The increased interest in this topic reflects several factors:
1 Greater demands on limited health resources has led to increased recognition that the patients’ views, as consumers of health care, are important.
