How does CDC gather data on HRQOL?
CDC gathers data on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) using either telephone interviews or face-to-face interviews with persons who agree to participate in surveys of representative populations of state or U.S. residents. The surveys most often used regularly for this purpose are the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) State-based telephone survey of adults 18 years old or older, and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a face-to-face interview of a nationally representative sample of adolescents and adults. The main four-question “core” HR-QOL questionnaire used on these surveys is on the Methods and Measures page. Another set of questions expands on the domains of this questionnaire to activity limitations and healthy days symptoms. Occasionally, some or all of these HR-QOL questions have been used in other nationally representative surveys (for example, the General Social Survey). A few other points: 1. Besides the four “core” health-rel
