ABSTRACT
One of the anomalies in contemporary medical practice is that patients' perceptions of personal health, wellbeing and life satisfaction are often discordant with their objective health status. Some individuals in seemingly good health report that they do not feel well, are lonely, and cannot go out in the community or work (Blazer & Houpt 1979, Gallagher in press, Imershein et al. in press). Others with serious medical problems and activity limitations rank their health equal to or better than their peers and say that they are satisfied with the quality of their lives (Stoller 1984, Goldstein & Hurwicz 1989). Clearly, then, health involves something more than is captured in objective measures of morbidity, mortality and activity limitations. For these reasons, subjective health assessment is a critically important component of contemporary health services research and clinical practice.
