Research revolving around Health Related Quality of Life is extremely important because of the implications that it can have on current and future treatments and health protocols. Thereby, validated HRQoL questionnaires can become an integral part of clinical trials in determining the trial drugs' value in a cost-benefit analysis.
The Remarkable .5 of Standard Deviation
Standard deviation
In a study by Norman et al. about HRQoL surveys, it was found that most survey results were within a half standard deviation. Norman et al. theorized that this is due to the limited human discrimination ability as identified by George A. Miller in 1956. Utilizing the Magic Number of 7 ± 2, Miller theorized that when the scale on a survey extends beyond 7 ± 2, humans fail to be consistent and lose ability to differentiate individual steps on the scale because of channel capacity.
Norman et al. proposed HRQoL surveys use a half standard deviation as the statistically significant benefit of a treatment instead of calculating survey-specific “minimally important differences", which are the supposed real-life improvements reported by the subjects. In other words, Norman et al. proposed all HRQoL survey scales be set to a half standard deviation instead of calculating a scale for each survey validation study where the steps are referred to as "minimally important differences".
Ethics for HRQoL
The quality of life ethic refers to an ethical principle that uses assessments of the quality of life that a person could potentially experience as a foundation for making decisions about the continuation or termination of life. It is often used in contrast to or in opposition to the sanctity of life ethic.
The Remarkable .5 of Standard Deviation
Standard deviation
In a study by Norman et al. about HRQoL surveys, it was found that most survey results were within a half standard deviation. Norman et al. theorized that this is due to the limited human discrimination ability as identified by George A. Miller in 1956. Utilizing the Magic Number of 7 ± 2, Miller theorized that when the scale on a survey extends beyond 7 ± 2, humans fail to be consistent and lose ability to differentiate individual steps on the scale because of channel capacity.
Norman et al. proposed HRQoL surveys use a half standard deviation as the statistically significant benefit of a treatment instead of calculating survey-specific “minimally important differences", which are the supposed real-life improvements reported by the subjects. In other words, Norman et al. proposed all HRQoL survey scales be set to a half standard deviation instead of calculating a scale for each survey validation study where the steps are referred to as "minimally important differences".
Ethics for HRQoL
The quality of life ethic refers to an ethical principle that uses assessments of the quality of life that a person could potentially experience as a foundation for making decisions about the continuation or termination of life. It is often used in contrast to or in opposition to the sanctity of life ethic.