Mobility and Quality of Life: Improving methods of economic evaluation of assistive technology for adults and children with impaired mobility

End of project summary

Main messages 

The aim of this research project was to find a new way of measuring the health and quality of life of people who have impaired mobility (i.e. problems moving around). Through four related studies we successfully developed the Mobility and Quality of Life (MobQoL) outcome measure. An outcome measure is a short questionnaire survey used by researchers and healthcare workers to understand the benefits of a treatment, and to see if it is good value for money. In the first study we interviewed a wide range of people with impaired mobility to understand what quality of life means to them; we used this information to develop the first version of the MobQoL outcome measure.

We then tested it with a large group of people with different mobility issues and found that it was accurate and reliable. This led to the development of a refined version which contains just seven questions, we called this the MobQoL-7D. Finally, we created a scoring system by asking a large number of people to rank the different health states described by the MobQoL-7D. We did this with a sample of the UK general public, and a separate sample of people with impaired mobility so we could compare their answers. The MobQoL-7D is quick and simple to complete and can be used in both research and healthcare. It will help to better understand the benefits of different treatments and services which improve mobility, and to understand which offer the best value for money. This could lead to improved services for people with impaired mobility and could help to improve the efficiency of the NHS. 

Key messages: 

• We found that there are many ways in which mobility can influence quality of life, including participation, social inclusion, relationships, personal care, independence, energy, self-esteem, and mental wellbeing.
• These influences define what we call mobility-related quality of life and can be grouped into two broad categories: 1) physical and role functioning related to mobility, and 2) mental wellbeing related to mobility.
• Adaptations, like wheelchairs and other assistive devices, can help to alleviate the impact of mobility impairments on quality of life.
• The MobQoL-7D is a valid and reliable way of measuring mobility-related quality of life and can be used to understand which adaptations offer the most benefits.
• It’s important to consider perspective when assessing the desirability of different health states – for instance people with impaired mobility generally find states of impaired mobility more favourable compared to the general public.