Quality of Life

Quality of life is about how a person experiences their own existence and if they are able to give it value and meaning. Various internal and external factors affect a person’s quality of life, including their physical or psychological state, their beliefs, social relationships, living environment and degree of independence and autonomy.

What we regard as good quality of life differs from one individual to another. As a result, quality of life is a wide-ranging and subjective concept which is difficult to define or measure. It is a basic principle for providing appropriate care and it can play an important role in decisions about certain treatment methods. Quality of life is also one of the six dimensions of positive health.

Our aim is to help everyone enjoy good health, and in this quest we work with practitioners, trainers and those with care needs to improve quality of life by encouraging and funding:

• Research into people’s perceived quality of life and what factors influence it.
• Projects that develop and implement interventions to improve quality of life in healthcare.
• Research into the development and use of monitoring tools for quality of life.

We fund research (for action) on sense of purpose, loneliness, positive health, appropriate care and the social domain. 

Giving people a sense of purpose is about arranging their life in a way that suits their wishes and needs, and includes social contact and autonomy. It also encompasses things like coping with loneliness, loss, illness and disability. A sense of purpose helps improve a person’s quality of life. Read about the knowledge available on sense of purpose and how you can apply it in daily practice.

Positive health is a way of taking a broader view of health, in which the focus is not on the disease, but on the person in question, their resilience and what gives their life meaning. We have embraced this concept and are contributing in various ways to its further development, use and dissemination. Read about positive health here.

To safeguard the quality of healthcare in the Netherlands in the future, the government, healthcare sector and society have initiated a process designed to ensure everyone receives appropriate care. But what is it actually, why is it necessary, and how to we help achieve it? Read about all this and more on the appropriate care page.

Strengthening the social base also contributes to individual good health. This mainly involves preventing and solving problems such as homelessness, debt and loneliness, but it is also about things like sense of purpose and palliative care. It is important that there is good collaboration between care providers, local authorities, youth care professionals, schools and other public or civil society organisations. Read about our knowledge of the social domain.