WHOQOL-OLD Module

The WHOQOL-OLD is a 24-item add-on module developed by the World Health Organization Quality of Life group to capture aspects of quality of life that matter especially to older adults but are not adequately covered by the generic WHOQOL-BREF. Reported by Mick Power, Kathryn Quinn, Silke Schmidt, and the WHOQOL-OLD Group in 2005, it was built simultaneously across many international field centres to ensure cross-cultural validity. The module comprises six facets, each with four items: sensory abilities; autonomy; past, present, and future activities; social participation; death and dying; and intimacy. Items are rated on five-point Likert scales and summed into facet scores and an overall older-adult quality of life score. Because it is designed to be administered together with the core WHOQOL-BREF, it extends rather than replaces the WHO's generic quality of life assessment for ageing populations. The instrument is one of the most widely used and translated older-adult quality of life measures in the world.