World Health Organization Quality of Life HIV Instrument – WHOQOL-HIV BREF
Measures quality of life across physical, psychological, independence, social, environmental, and spiritual domains in individuals living with HIV.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The World Health Organization Quality of Life HIV Instrument – WHOQOL-HIV BREF was developed by WHOQOL Group (2002). It is designed to measure Quality of Life. The scale is intended for use with Adults living with HIV/AIDS.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 31 items organized into 7 factors/subscales: Domain 1: Physical, Domain 2: Psychological, Domain 3: Level of Independence, Domain 4: Social Relationships, Domain 5: Environment, Domain 6: Spirituality/Religion/Personal Beliefs, Overall QoL and General Health.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Domain 1: Physical | 3,4,14,21 | 4 |
| Domain 2: Psychological | 6,11,15,24,31 | 5 |
| Domain 3: Level of Independence | 5,20,22,23 | 4 |
| Domain 4: Social Relationships | 17,25,26,27 | 4 |
| Domain 5: Environment | 12,13,16,18,19,28,29,30 | 8 |
| Domain 6: Spirituality/Religion/Personal Beliefs | 7,8,9,10 | 4 |
| Overall QoL and General Health | 1,2 | 2 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Very poor / Very dissatisfied / Not at all / Never, 2 = Poor / Dissatisfied / A little / Seldom, 3 = Neither / Moderately / Quite often, 4 = Good / Satisfied / Mostly / Very often, 5 = Very good / Very satisfied / Completely / Always.
The scale includes 7 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 4 to 20. Interpretation guidelines:
- Domain score range (scaled from 4 to 20, where higher scores indicate higher quality of life): 4 – 20
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Cronbach's alpha > 0.70 across domains.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.