WHOQOL-BREF quality-of-life profile
{{ formatScore(profileMean) }}
Within-tool profile mean across the four WHOQOL-BREF domains
Overall QoL {{ generalItemRows[0].responseText }} Health {{ generalItemRows[1].responseText }} {{ row.shortLabel }} {{ formatScore(row.transformedScore) }}
{{ card.label }}
{{ card.value }}

WHOQOL-BREF is a 26-item quality-of-life check across the past two weeks.

  • The four WHOQOL domains stay separate from the two general WHO items.
  • Each item keeps the original response wording for its question type.
  • Responses stay in this browser unless you intentionally export them.
{{ progressPercent }}%
{{ uxProgressLabel }}
  • {{ question.id }}. {{ question.navText || question.prompt }}
WHOQOL-BREF domain radar

Compares the four domains against your current focus and anchor thresholds.

Quality-of-life domain rings

Shows the same four domains without collapsing them into a single label.

How to read this
  • {{ fact }}

{{ interpretationLead }}

Next moves
  1. {{ step }}
Current snapshot
  • {{ fact }}
General WHO items
  • {{ row.label }}: {{ row.responseText }}

Follow-up note: {{ supportNote }}

Focus-to-anchor table

Pairs the lower domain signals with the current strongest domain signals so the next move stays specific.

# Current anchor Lower-scoring domain Why it stands out One next move
{{ row.id }} {{ row.supportLabel }} {{ row.focusLabel }} {{ row.reason }} {{ row.action }}
Domain audit

{{ scoringMethodNote }}

{{ row.label }}
{{ row.responseText }}
{{ row.note }}
Domain Items Mean / 5 Raw 4-20 Score Interpretation
{{ row.label }}
{{ row.statusLabel }}
{{ row.itemCount }} {{ formatScore(row.meanScore) }} {{ formatScore(row.rawScore) }} {{ formatScore(row.transformedScore) }} {{ row.note }}
Lower-scoring items
  • {{ item.id }}. {{ item.text }} ({{ item.domainLabel }}, {{ item.responseText }}, normalized {{ item.normalizedLabel }})

No normalized item landed in the lower 1 to 2 range on this run.

Current support items
  • {{ item.id }}. {{ item.text }} ({{ item.domainLabel }}, {{ item.responseText }}, normalized {{ item.normalizedLabel }})

No normalized item landed in the higher 4 to 5 range on this run.

Response audit

Export the full answer ledger if you want to compare later runs or bring the structured record into follow-up.

# Domain Item Response Norm. Reverse Status
{{ row.id }} {{ row.domainLabel }} {{ row.text }} {{ row.responseText }} {{ row.normalizedLabel }} {{ row.reverseLabel }} {{ row.statusLabel }}
JSON snapshot

The payload includes the subtype, report options, separate general WHO items, domain scores, paired rows, and the full answered-item ledger.


                
:

Introduction

Quality of life is broader than symptoms, diagnosis, or one bad week. It asks how daily life is going across the body, the mind, close relationships, and the practical setting around a person. The WHOQOL-BREF keeps that breadth visible by asking 26 questions about the last two weeks and turning them into four separate domain scores plus two general questions about overall quality of life and satisfaction with health.

That structure matters when life feels mixed. Someone can feel supported by friends while struggling with pain, sleep, or treatment burden. Another person may rate health poorly while still finding meaning, concentration, or steady routines. A domain profile is more useful than one undifferentiated total when the real question is where daily life is under pressure and where it is still holding up.

The page follows the official scoring structure first. The four domains are shown both as raw scores on the 4 to 20 scale and as transformed scores on the 0 to 100 scale, while the two general items stay outside the domain calculations. After that, the page adds a profile mean, a domain spread summary, charts, and export options to make the profile easier to review and discuss.

Scoring happens in the browser rather than through a tool-specific server calculation. That reduces unnecessary transmission while you answer, but copied tables, downloaded files, chart images, JSON exports, and shared links can still preserve sensitive questionnaire content. Treat those outputs the same way you would treat private health notes.

Technical Details

WHOQOL-BREF uses several 1 to 5 response ladders rather than one repeated wording set. Some items run from very poor to very good, some from very dissatisfied to very satisfied, some from not at all to an extreme amount, and one from never to always. Three items are reverse-coded so that higher final values always mean better quality of life in the scored direction: pain stopping needed activities, needing medical treatment to function, and frequent negative feelings.

The official method is domain based. Each domain starts with the mean of its item scores, that mean is multiplied by four to produce the raw domain score, and the raw score is then transformed to a 0 to 100 scale for easier comparison. The page requires all 26 responses before it shows results, so it never needs the manual's missing-data substitutions. The page-level profile mean is only a convenience average of the four transformed domain scores. It is not an official WHO single-index score.

domain mean = sum of scored items in that domain / number of scored items in that domain

raw domain score = domain mean x 4

transformed domain score = ((raw domain score - 4) / 16) x 100

WHOQOL-BREF domain structure used on this page
Part of the profile Items What it covers How the page uses it
Physical 7 Pain, treatment dependence, energy, mobility, sleep, daily activities, work capacity Shown as a scored domain, highlighted when body-side limits are a current pressure point.
Psychological 6 Enjoyment, meaning, concentration, body image, self-regard, negative feelings after reverse coding Shown as a scored domain, with item-level support and pressure cues underneath.
Social 3 Personal relationships, sex life satisfaction, support from friends Shown as a scored domain and kept distinct from the other three areas.
Environment 8 Safety, finances, information, leisure, living conditions, health services, transport Shown as a scored domain so practical barriers do not disappear inside mood or health ratings.
General items 2 Overall quality of life and satisfaction with health Reported separately so a broad self-rating can be compared against the domain pattern.
Page-specific reading controls for WHOQOL-BREF
Setting Choices What changes What does not change
Guidance lens Self-reflection first, Clinical discussion first, Care planning first Action wording in the report and focus-to-anchor guidance Official WHOQOL-BREF domain scoring
Focus threshold 40, 50, or 60 on the transformed scale Which domains the page labels as current focus areas Official WHOQOL-BREF domain scoring
Strength threshold 60, 70, or 80 on the transformed scale Which domains the page labels as current supports Official WHOQOL-BREF domain scoring
Recheck window 2, 4, 8, or 12 weeks Follow-up wording inside the report Official WHOQOL-BREF domain scoring

After scoring, the page shows overview cards, a domain radar, a rings chart, a focus-to-anchor table, a domain audit, lower-scoring and support-item lists, a full response audit, chart downloads in image and CSV form, CSV and DOCX exports for the response table, and a JSON snapshot that stores the scored profile and answered-item ledger.

Everyday Use & Decision Guide

Start with the profile, not the convenience mean. The most practical first question is which domain is lowest, followed by how far apart the four domains are from one another. A low physical score means something different from a low environment score, even if the transformed numbers look similar. One points more toward pain, energy, sleep, mobility, or treatment burden. The other points more toward safety, money, transport, housing, or service access.

The two general items help you check whether the broad impression matches the detailed profile. If overall quality of life and health satisfaction are both much lower than the domains, recent events or a sharp health worry may be weighing heavily on the broader impression. If the general items look stronger than the domains, the person may still feel broadly resilient even while specific life areas are strained.

  • Overview cards surface the profile mean, spread, lowest domain, and strongest domain in one glance.
  • WHOQOL-BREF Domain Radar shows all four domains against the current focus and strength thresholds.
  • Quality-of-Life Domain Rings keeps the same scores visible without flattening them into one number.
  • Focus-to-anchor table pairs lower domains with current supports so the next move stays concrete.
  • Domain audit and response audit let you inspect raw 4 to 20 values, transformed values, reverse-coded items, and the full answer pattern.
  • Exports are useful for repeat runs or discussions, but they should be handled like sensitive records.

Use the page settings after you understand the default picture. Switching the guidance lens can make the report better suited for self-review, a clinical conversation, or practical care planning, but it does not alter the WHOQOL-BREF calculation. The same applies to the focus and strength thresholds. They are sorting aids inside this page, not official WHO severity bands.

If you want to compare results over time, keep the last-two-weeks frame consistent and note any major context shifts. A profile collected during acute illness, moving house, caregiving strain, exam pressure, or a service disruption may still be accurate for that moment, but it should not be compared casually with a calmer period as if both snapshots came from the same life conditions.

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Answer all 26 questions using the same last-two-weeks frame throughout the questionnaire.
  2. Read the two general items first so you know the broad self-rating of quality of life and health before you dig into domain detail.
  3. Check the overview cards or domain audit to find the lowest domain, the strongest domain, and the spread across the four domains.
  4. Open the radar or rings chart if you want a quick visual comparison of the four domain scores against the current focus and strength thresholds.
  5. Review the focus-to-anchor table and the lower-scoring items list to decide what concrete issue deserves attention first.
  6. Change the guidance lens, thresholds, or recheck window only if you want the follow-up wording organized differently.
  7. Export charts, CSV, DOCX, or JSON only after the profile looks plausible against the original answers and current life context.

Interpreting Results

There is no single official WHOQOL-BREF disease cutoff on this page. Higher domain values simply mean better perceived quality of life in that area. The page's focus and strength thresholds are practical markers for sorting the profile, not official WHO bands and not diagnostic conclusions. What matters most is the shape of the profile, how the general items fit that shape, and whether the same pattern matches real day-to-day difficulty.

Common WHOQOL-BREF result patterns and practical reading notes
Pattern on the page Plain-language reading What to review next
Physical is clearly lowest Daily life may be getting squeezed more by pain, fatigue, sleep, mobility, or treatment burden than by the other domains. Look at the lower-scoring physical items before reacting to the overall mean.
Psychological is clearly lowest Enjoyment, meaning, concentration, self-regard, or negative feelings may be under more strain than the rest of the profile. Compare the psychological domain with the general items and recent stressors.
Social is clearly lowest The profile is pointing more toward relationship satisfaction, support, or connection problems. Review whether isolation, conflict, or limited support fits the recent picture.
Environment is clearly lowest Practical conditions around daily life may be weighing down quality of life more than inner state alone. Check barriers linked to safety, money, services, transport, housing, or leisure access.
Wide spread across domains Quality of life is uneven. Some areas are acting as supports while others are under obvious pressure. Treat the profile as a map of mixed conditions, not as one global verdict.
Narrow spread with middling scores The profile is fairly even, so the main story may be broad moderate strain or broad moderate stability. Repeat the assessment later under similar conditions before over-reading one point gap.
General items look worse than the domains The broad self-impression may be pulled down by a recent event, health fear, or overall sense that life is not going well. Keep the general items visible instead of collapsing everything into the domain average.

The profile mean is best treated as orientation, not as the conclusion. Two people can share a similar average while having completely different domain shapes. One may have one very low domain and three stronger ones. Another may have four middle-range domains with little spread. Those are different situations and they usually lead to different next steps.

Worked Examples

Suppose the page shows Physical about 38, Psychological about 63, Social about 75, and Environment about 50, while the general items read Poor overall quality of life and Dissatisfied health satisfaction. The average sits in the middle, but the useful story is the mismatch. Physical is the clearest pressure point, Social is the strongest current support, and the general items suggest the person feels the strain broadly even though one domain is still holding up well.

Now imagine a second result where all four domains fall between about 58 and 66, with both general items near the middle of their scales. That profile is more even. The next step is usually not to chase one tiny domain gap, but to ask whether the whole profile improves, declines, or stays steady when the questionnaire is repeated a few weeks later under comparable conditions.

Responsible Use Note

WHOQOL-BREF describes perceived quality of life. It does not diagnose depression, anxiety, chronic illness severity, social risk, or any other condition on its own. A lower domain score becomes more meaningful when the same pattern matches concrete difficulty in daily life and, when relevant, shows up again on repeat assessments.

If a repeated profile stays low in the same area, or if the answers reflect worsening distress, pain, isolation, unsafe conditions, or trouble managing daily life, bring the exported record into follow-up with an appropriate clinician, counselor, social worker, or other qualified professional. If there is an immediate safety concern, seek urgent local help instead of relying on a quality-of-life questionnaire.

FAQ

Is there one official WHOQOL-BREF total score?
No. WHOQOL-BREF is usually read as four domain scores plus two separately reported general items. This page adds a profile mean as a convenience summary, but it does not replace the official four-domain structure.

Are the focus and strength thresholds official WHO cutoffs?
No. They are local report settings that sort the domain profile into lower and stronger areas inside this page. They do not change the official scoring and they are not diagnostic bands.

Why keep the two general items separate from the domains?
A broad judgment about life or health can agree with the domain pattern, or it can diverge from it. Keeping those two items separate preserves that difference instead of hiding it inside a blended total.

Is scoring done on a server?
No. The page calculates scores in the browser. Even so, copied tables, downloaded files, chart images, JSON exports, and shared links can still preserve questionnaire content.

Can I use it to compare two points in time?
Yes, but the comparison is more trustworthy when both runs cover similar last-two-weeks periods and similar life conditions. Otherwise the arithmetic change can look more precise than the real comparison.

Glossary

Glossary of WHOQOL-BREF terms used on this page
Term Meaning on this page
Domain score The score for one official WHOQOL-BREF area: Physical, Psychological, Social, or Environment.
Raw 4 to 20 score The official domain score created by multiplying the domain mean by four.
Transformed 0 to 100 score The same domain result shown on a 0 to 100 scale for easier comparison.
General item One of the two broad questions about overall quality of life or satisfaction with health that stays outside the domain calculations.
Profile mean The page's average of the four transformed domain scores. It is a reading aid, not an official WHO single-index score.
Spread The distance between the highest and lowest transformed domain scores, used here to show how even or uneven the profile is.
Focus threshold A page setting that marks domains below a chosen transformed score as current focus areas.
Strength threshold A page setting that marks domains at or above a chosen transformed score as current supports.