Measurement of Quality of Life in Adults With Dysphagia

Date of Graduation

Spring 2004

Degree

Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders

Department

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Committee Chair

Lynette Goldberg

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure quality of life (QOL) in adults with dysphagia, to compare disease-specific and generic measures to self-reported overall QOL, and to determine if overall QOL was correlated with severity of dysphagia. Five female adults who resided in nursing homes and their treating speech-language pathologists served as participants. QOL ratings varied across the participants with dysphagia. It was interesting to note that the two participants who had the most severe dysphagia rated their overall quality of life as excellent. Disease-specific QOL measures provided valuable data to include in treatment. Generic QOL measures supported and contributed to disease-specific QOL measures. Although data are preliminary, they argue for the inclusion of both disease-specific and generic QOL measures in measuring treatment effectiveness for adults with dysphagia. Further treatment goals for the physical symptoms of dysphagia need to be placed directly in the context of QOL dimensions rather than implied.

Keywords

dysphagia, quality of life, treatment effectiveness, disease-specific measures, generic measures

Subject Categories

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Copyright

© Ashley Burnett

Citation-only

Dissertation/Thesis

Share

COinS