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Health‐Related Quality of Life Associated With Physical Activity: New Estimates by Gender and Race and Ethnicity
Author(s) -
Buder Iris,
Zick Cathleen,
Waitzman Norman
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
world medical and health policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.326
H-Index - 11
ISSN - 1948-4682
DOI - 10.1002/wmh3.208
Subject(s) - psychological intervention , ethnic group , quality of life (healthcare) , gerontology , race (biology) , public health , medicine , sociology , nursing , gender studies , anthropology
The maturation of health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) as both concept and measure is evident in its formal incorporation into the new goals for Healthy People 2020. Its rising significance has paralleled the expanding deployment of cost‐effectiveness analyses, where HRQoL is critical to cost‐utility assessments of health interventions. Essentially, there is a growing consensus that if we are to understand the interconnection of public health and effectiveness of interventions, we must include assessments of HRQoL, as well as the variation that may arise in populations. In the area of quality of life surrounding physical activity (PA) and interventions to modify its level, there is significant room for such refinement. In the current analysis, we utilize the Health and Activities Limitation Index (HALex) to calculate mean health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) scores by gender and race associated with levels of PA. These new estimates provide the basis for more detailed assessments tailored to specific demographic groups than have been done to date. Our analyses reveal that being physically active increases HRQoL, for both women and men and for all races/ethnicities. Also, we observe that PA has a greater impact in enhancing HRQoL among those who have health limitations.