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Quality of Life from Research and Clinical Perspectives: An Example from Paediatric Psycho-oncology

University Psychiatric Clinics, Basel, Switzerland, alain.digallo{at}unibas.ch

Rosemarie Felder-Puig

St Anna Children's Hospital, Vienna, Austria

Reinhard J. Topf

St Anna Children's Hospital, Vienna, Austria

In clinical oncology and research, health-related quality of life (HRQL) of patients has increasingly gained attention. Although there is agreement that HRQL is a multidimensional construct incorporating primarily the patient's evaluation of his/her life, the construct lacks a uniform model of conceptualization. This article briefly outlines definitions and methods of assessing quality of life in children and adolescents. The case report of a 10-year-old boy who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation views HRQL from various perspectives. Self- and proxy assessments are compared, and the expertise of psychotherapeutic work is combined with data gathered by standardized questionnaires.

Key Words: childhood cancer • quality of life • self-report/proxy report • stem cell transplantation

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Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Vol. 12, No. 4, 599-610 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1359104507080995


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Di Gallo, A. Articles by Topf, R. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Di Gallo, A. Articles by Topf, R. J. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?