The MSQLI is a battery consisting of 10 individual scales providing a quality of life measure that is both generic and MS-specific. (Fischer et al, 1999) The MSQLI consists of the following individual scales, 5 of which have both a standard and a short form.
MSQLI components:
If the standard, longer forms are used, the MSQLI takes approximately 45 minutes to administer. Using all 5 of the short forms, the time can be reduced to approximately 30 minutes. In addition, individual scales can be omitted to save additional time.
The MSQLI consists of a set of 10 self-report questionnaires that the patient can generally complete with little or no intervention from an interviewer. However, patients with visual or upper extremity impairments may need to have the MSQLI administered as an interview. Interviewers should be trained in basic interviewing skills and in the use of this instrument.
Each of the individual scales generates a separate score. In addition, some of the scales generate subscales, e.g., the SF-36, the MFIS, the PDQ, and the MSSS. There is no global composite combining all the scales into a single score.
Download the MSQLI: A User’s Manual (.pdf)
The MSQLI addresses the concerns most relevant to the MS population. Although the standard version of the MSQLI is somewhat lengthy, short forms of many of the individual scales have been developed and these have psychometric properties comparable to the longer versions.
There is good internal consistency reliability for the subscales of the MSQLI, with the lowest alpha being 0.67 (for social functioning on SF-36). Other coefficients range from 0.78 (BWCS) to 0.97 (MSSS). Test-retest reliability on the SF-36 ranges from 0.60 (social functioning) to 0.81 (physical functioning). Good content validity for the MSQLI was ensured by the mode of development, which was designed to develop health-related QOL measures specifically for MS patients. The MSQLI requires further longitudinal testing to determine sensitivity to detect change in MS patients.