World Health Organization Quality of Life – BREF
The WHO's short questionnaire on the patient's quality of life across four domains.
- Category
- Wellbeing
- Items
- 26
- Recall period
- Past two weeks
On this page
Licensed scale
This scale is under licence, so its items cannot be shown here. The information on this page describes it; contact the rights holder to obtain the instrument.
Alternatives you can administer here
Introduction
The WHOQOL-BREF is the short form of the World Health Organization's quality of life instrument. The patient rates 26 questions about the past two weeks. It shows how the patient sees their own quality of life, beyond symptoms alone.
What it measures
The WHOQOL-BREF covers four domains – physical health, psychological health, social relationships and environment – plus two global questions on overall quality of life and general health. Each question is rated from 1 to 5.
When to use it
Clinicians use the WHOQOL-BREF at the start of treatment and during follow-up to see how the patient's quality of life develops alongside changes in substance use.
Origin
The WHOQOL-BREF was developed by the WHOQOL Group of the World Health Organization and published in 1998. The German version was published by Matthias C. Angermeyer, Reinhold Kilian and Herbert Matschinger (2000).
Limitations
Use of the WHOQOL-BREF requires permission from the WHO. Information on obtaining it is available on the WHO website.
Frequently asked questions
- Why can't the WHOQOL-BREF be completed here?
- The WHO only allows use of the WHOQOL-BREF with its permission. Information on obtaining it is available on the WHO website.
References
- The WHOQOL Group. Development of the World Health Organization WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment. Psychol Med. 1998;28(3):551-558.
- Angermeyer MC, Kilian R, Matschinger H. WHOQOL-100 und WHOQOL-BREF. Handbuch für die deutschsprachige Version der WHO Instrumente zur Erfassung von Lebensqualität. Göttingen: Hogrefe; 2000.
- World Health Organization. WHOQOL: Measuring Quality of Life.
Licence & attribution
© World Health Organization.
Free of charge, but use only with WHO permission.