Generic health outcomes measures are used to assess either a single health domain or multiple health domains. Ideally, multidimensional measures assess physical functioning, psychological well-being, social functioning, pain, cognitive functioning, vitality, and overall well-being. These are the modern perception of the generic health outcomes. The traditional medical view is limited to mortality and morbidity; however, in the recent past, these perceptions have been significantly expanded.
Physical functioning domain involves the physiological health of an individual, basic self-care activities, and integrated independent living activities. Some of the activities in this category involve running, shopping, and dressing, among others. T5he choice of physical functioning measure depends on the population measured and its underlying characteristics. For physically disabled population, basic self-care activities might be a better focus for physical functioning.
Psychological well-being involves an analysis of an individual’s emotional reaction. It focuses much on anxiety and depression. Commonly used measures include SF-36, which incorporate psychological health measurement scale. MHI-5 assesses depressive symptoms, anxiety, and mood.
Apart from psychological well-being, social functioning measures play a vital role in health outcome research. Social functioning involves social interaction and interdependence of the individual within the social environment. It inculcates the social roles of an individual, engagement with the members of the society, interpersonal relationships, and social support offered by an individual. Social support has been used as the core measure for health outcomes. One dimension of social support is emotional. This concern the comfort provided by family and friends either in the form of shelter or financial aid.
Pain is the most frequent reason of visiting a physician. Generic measure of pain assesses the degree of debilitating physical discomfort. Pain can be in the form of sensations and bodily pain that can bother an individual. Individual have varied perceptions of pain including headaches, stomachache, and cramps. Pain can be assessed by analyzing its intensity, frequency, participating and alleviating factors, timing, and duration of the pain. These characteristics are critical to developing a history of present illness.
Consequently, cognitive function is a neurological testing that is performed by clinicians during the process of treatment. It incorporates an individual’s memory, reasoning abilities, and orientation. The clinician assesses an individual’s memory by analyzing his/her ability to remember significant dates. Complexity of the situation will necessitate use of Mental Status Questionnaires to ascertain an individual’s ability to perform computational tasks with ease. Older patients are usually subjected to orientation analysis where the patient’s ability to current surrounding is determined.
The degree of vitality ensures that an individual’s energy and sleep are analyzed. Besides shelter and food, sleep and rest are vital human needs. Sleep quality is measured by the number of hours and individual will sleep, the time of sleeping, and the time an individual’s wakes up. Sleep can be affected by numerous factors including stress and family conflicts. On the other hand, energy characterizes a positive or negative range of vitality. Energy is measured using a Fatigue Scale; SF-36. Finally, overall-well being involves a global evaluation of an individual’s sense contentment. The domain critically assesses the patent’s sense of his/her health status. Ideally, the domain incorporates physical, psychological, and social dimensions and their interactions. Indeed, for an individual to assess his/her well-being, one must be able to deduce the level of fatigue experienced, pain, psychological problems, among others.