Subjective well-being: properties of an instrument for measuring this (in the chronically ill).

Present measures of the quality of life, or psychological well-being, of the chronically or terminally ill patient are either subjective and impressionistic , or else objective and very coarse. There exists no technique which enables a clinician to assess routinely the subjective well-being of his patient in such a way that he can make rational decisions about alternative treatments as these may relate to both the quantity and quality of the patient's life. This paper describes an instrument which does measure subjective well-being, which does so with high reliability and demonstrated validity, which is easy to administer and score, and can be used routinely without subject intrusion.