ABSTRACT
This book has addressed issues of measurement that can potentially influence results from health assessment questionnaires. In essence, the message of the text is that methods for the measurement of "health status" currently exist, but that selecting, and, to an even greater extent, designing measures can be a potentially hazardous undertaking. This is due, in part, to methodological problems, such as measurement insensitivity or inappropriate questions being posed, and partly to philosophical problems relating to what it is that should be measured. Terms such as "health status" and "quality of life" tend to be used interchangeably, but, as has been pointed out in this text, could indeed be quite separate phenomena. With no agreement as to definitions, and with no "gold standard", subjective health measurement could stand accused of lacking direction. This book has attempted to highlight some of the issues surrounding both theoretical issues and methodological problems.
