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QUALITY OF LIFE INDICATORS

QUALITY OF LIFE INDICATORS. Keith Morrison Macau Inter-University Institute. STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION. The purposes, intended outcomes and contents of Quality of Life research: mainstream international examples

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QUALITY OF LIFE INDICATORS

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  1. QUALITY OF LIFEINDICATORS Keith Morrison Macau Inter-University Institute

  2. STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION • The purposes, intended outcomes and contents of Quality of Life research: mainstream international examples • Methodologies in Quality of Life research, including issues of operationalisation; sampling, approaches and instrumentation, ethics • Reliability and validity in indicator systems • Data analysis, interpretation and making judgements • Reporting and dissemination • Follow-up and impact

  3. PURPOSES OF QUALITY OF LIFE RESEARCH IN MACAU • To develop a comprehensive set of indicators of the quality of life in the territory of Macau. • To apply those indicators to the territory of Macau, gathering, processing and reporting data. • To provide indices of the quality of life in Macau, both specific to the areas of focus and overall. • To provide a picture of the quality of life in Macau, based on the indicators and data. • To provide stratified data according to nominal characteristics of the population as well as to the population overall. • To set up a database that can be used as the basis for trend survey and longitudinal studies. • To identify areas for attention and intervention in Macau. • To make recommendations for action to the relevant parties in Macau. • To evaluate the impact and effects of action consequent to Quality of Life research in Macau.

  4. THE UNESCO QUALITY OF LIFE INDICATORS

  5. WEIGHTED INDEX OF SOCIAL PROGRESS EDUCATION HEALTH WOMEN ECONOMIC DEMOGRAPHY DEFENCE ENVIRONMENT SOCIAL CHAOS CULTURAL DIVERSITY WELFARE EFFORT

  6. W. EASTERLY (1997) (WORLD BANK) • Individual rights and democracy • Political instability and war • Education • Health • Transport and communications • Inequality across class and gender • ‘Bads’: crime and the environment

  7. OBJECTIVE FACTORS • Life expectancy • Crime rate • Unemployment rate • Gross Domestic Product • Poverty rate • School attendance • Perinatal mortality rate • Working hours per week • Suicide rate

  8. SUBJECTIVE FACTORS • Sense of community • Material possessions • Sense of safety • Happiness • Satisfaction with ‘life as a whole’ • Relationships with family • Sex life • Job satisfaction • Perception of distributional justice • Social class membership • Clubs and hobbies

  9. WORLD BANK 2000/1 • Poverty • Infant mortality rates • School attendance • Individuals’ and groups’ political power and voice • Vulnerability to illness and disease • Economic location and dislocation • Personal violence • Susceptibility to natural disasters

  10. WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION • Individual physical health • Individual psychological health • Level of individual independence • Social relationships • Environment • Spirituality/religion/personal belief

  11. What makes somewhere a good place to live? What needs most improving in this local area?

  12. MORI, FOR THE AUDIT COMMISSION Activities for teenagers Education Job prospects What most needs improving locally Health services Race relations Important generally

  13. European Communities • Education • Health • Infrastructure • Energy • Environment • Public safety

  14. United Nations Development Programme • Weighted index Income Education Life expectancy Environment Poverty gaps Gender Human rights Military v civil budget ratios • Human Development Index

  15. Education Employment Energy Environment Health Social welfare Civic rights and duties Income and wealth Infrastructure Security Public safety Recreation, culture, leisure Housing Governance Sense of community Material possessions Sense of safety Happiness General satisfaction with life Relationships with family Job satisfaction Sex life Perception of distributional justice Hobbies and club membership Self-actualization Freedom from want Psychological well-being Physical well-being Social well-being Material well-being Social capital QUALITY OF LIFE IN MACAU OBJECTIVE SUBJECTIVE

  16. QUALITY OF LIFE HEALTH Sub-issue 1 Community Infants Children Adolescents Adults Parents State Elderly Chronically ill Employed Unemployed Underemployed Service: manual Service: Non-manual Manual Professional Executive

  17. SOME POSSIBLE TENSIONS • Too many and too few data • Coverage and manageability • Holism and atomisation • Complexity and simplicity • Inclusion/participation and representation

  18. METHODOLOGIES • Three main areas Numerical Qualitative Mixed methodologies Fitness for purpose • Comprehensive descriptions and measures

  19. ETHICAL ISSUES • Informed consent and involvement • Treating people as subjects • Whose views and definitions count? • Are everyone’s views and voices heard? • Protecting vulnerabilities and harm (non-maleficence) • Protecting rights and freedoms • Protection from, or exposure to, litigation: liabilities, libels, negligence, misrepresentation, risk, harm (e.g. health), etc. • Confidentiality, anonymity and non-traceability • Public’s right to know versus the individual’s right to privacy • Bringing improvement and benefit (beneficence) • Giving scientific legitimacy to contestable matters (e.g. abortion, euthanasia)

  20. ETHICAL ISSUES • Use of rigorous, reliable, comprehensive and valid designs, methodologies, instrumentation, sampling, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, reporting, dissemination • Avoidance of misrepresentation of data/people/groups • Fair use of data and avoidance of misuse of data • The avoidance of negative ‘surveillance’ • Consideration of the ethical implications of failure • Considerations of covert and overt practices • Who owns and controls the data? When does ownership pass from one party to another? • Access to, and release of data • Establishing and following protocols • Consideration given to the effects of reporting on those who are involved, or affected by the reporting. • Permissions, copyrights and fair attention to intellectual property

  21. RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY • The problem of proxies • Under-reporting and over-reporting • Happiness and expectations • The problem of perception – the ‘happiness’ or ‘feel good’ factor

  22. THE PROBLEM OF CALIBRATION

  23. THE PROBLEM OF CALIBRATION

  24. THE DANGER OF THE MEAN The mean is unfair: it makes quality look better than it is The mean is fair

  25. REPORTING AND DISSEMINATION • Reports • Conferences and symposia, before, during and after the project • Academic and professional journals • Initial, interim and final reports • Books • Newspaper and television coverage • Conferences, seminars and workshops • Establishment of a databank and web sites • Publication of technical papers • Interviews

  26. The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it. THANK YOU

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