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Quality of life and social production functions: A framework for understanding health effects

Author

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  • Ormel, Johan
  • Lindenberg, Siegwart
  • Steverink, Nardi
  • Vonkorff, Michael

Abstract

Quality of life (QofL) has emerged as a new outcome paradigm. It is now the endpoint in various taxonomies of patient outcomes, in which relationships are modeled amongst biological abnormalities, symptom status, functional status, disability, health perceptions and quality of life. Although current models and taxonomies point at important determinants of QofL, they do not provide a heuristic that guides the conceptualization of QofL and the systematic development of an explanatory theory of how ill health affects QofL. General mechanisms linking ill health, behavior, and QofL are lacking. In this paper we propose social production function (SPF) theory as providing such a heuristic, relating the effects of ill health, the activities that patients engage in to maintain QofL, and QofL itself. This theory basically asserts that people produce their own well-being by trying to optimize achievement of universal human goals via six instrumental goals within the environmental and functional limitations they are facing. Three important notions of SPF theory are: (1) the linkages between goals, needs, and well-being; (2) the distinction between universal needs and instrumental goals; and (3) substitution among instrumental goals, activities and endowments according to cost-benefit considerations, whereby costs refer to scarce resources such as functional capacity, time, effort and money. We will argue that SPF theory meaningfully relates the "biomedical model"--with its focus on pathological processes and biological, physiological and clinical outcomes--to the "quality of life" model, with its focus on functioning and well-being. We describe SPF theory and how SPF theory can be used to: (1) operationally define and measure QofL; (2) clarify persistent measurement problems; and (3) develop an explanatory framework of the effects of disease on QofL. In the discussion section, we address the limitations of the SPF approach of QofL and its relationship with personality.

Suggested Citation

  • Ormel, Johan & Lindenberg, Siegwart & Steverink, Nardi & Vonkorff, Michael, 1997. "Quality of life and social production functions: A framework for understanding health effects," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 45(7), pages 1051-1063, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:45:y:1997:i:7:p:1051-1063
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Christian Scheve & Frederike Esche & Jürgen Schupp, 2017. "The Emotional Timeline of Unemployment: Anticipation, Reaction, and Adaptation," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 1231-1254, August.
    2. Nieboer, Anna P. & Koolman, Xander & Stolk, Elly A., 2010. "Preferences for long-term care services: Willingness to pay estimates derived from a discrete choice experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(9), pages 1317-1325, May.
    3. Wang, Suosheng, 2017. "Leisure travel outcomes and life satisfaction: An integrative look," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 169-182.
    4. Sijmen A Reijneveld & P Auke Wiegersma & Johan Ormel & Frank C Verhulst & Wilma A M Vollebergh & Danielle E M C Jansen, 2014. "Adolescents’ Use of Care for Behavioral and Emotional Problems: Types, Trends, and Determinants," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(4), pages 1-11, April.
    5. Kamil Filipek & Andrzej Cwynar & Wiktor Cwynar, 2019. "Does Social Capital Influence Debt Literacy? The Case of Facebook Users in Poland," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2019(5), pages 567-588.
    6. Te-Hsin Liang & Jia-ling Peng & Ching-Yun Yu, 2012. "A simpler quality of e-life indicator: does the Internet have a positive impact on the quality of life in Taiwan," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 1025-1045, June.
    7. Marie-Christine Taillefer & Gilles Dupuis & Marie-Anne Roberge & Sylvie LeMay, 2003. "Health-Related Quality of Life Models: Systematic Review of the Literature," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 64(2), pages 293-323, November.
    8. Suppa, Nicolai, 2021. "Unemployment and subjective well-being," GLO Discussion Paper Series 760, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    9. Debby L Gerritsen & Nardi Steverink & Dinnus HM Frijters & Marcel E Ooms & Miel W Ribbe, 2010. "Social well‐being and its measurement in the nursing home, the SWON‐scale," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(9‐10), pages 1243-1251, May.
    10. repec:prg:jnlpep:v:preprint:id:721:p:1-22 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Lotte Vestjens & Jane Murray Cramm & Anna Petra Nieboer, 2021. "A cross-sectional study investigating the relationships between self-management abilities, productive patient-professional interactions, and well-being of community-dwelling frail older people," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 427-437, September.

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