Sprangers M.A.G.: Quality of Life

The overall goal of the research line "Quality of Life" is to enhance the well-being of somatically ill patients by studying their quality of life and to facilitate the correct inclusion of patient-reported outcomes in patient-based, clinical research. Patient-reported outcomes include quality of life, treatment adherence, patient preferences for treatment, and psychological variables, such as anxiety, depression, coping, attachment, and illness cognitions. This goal is achieved by conducting three types of studies. First, we conduct clinically applied research by supporting and participating in patient-based clinical studies that include patient-reported outcomes, initiated by clinical departments within and outside the AMC. Second, we conduct methodological research by developing and applying advanced statistical and qualitative methods to better examine changes in quality of life, taking shifts in patients’ perspectives over time (known as response shifts) into account. We also develop and validate questionnaire methods that assess treatment adherence. Third, theoretical research is aimed at delineating the sociodemographic, clinical (including biological) and psychosocial
factors that affect quality of life. We also develop and evaluate psychosocial interventions to improve quality of life. The insights gained from these studies allow for targeting health care to those who need it and provide important contributions to evidence-based medicine.