Brief Description
The Bariatric Quality of Life Questionnaire (BQL) measures the quality of life in individuals who have undergone bariatric surgery. The questionnaire addresses key domains such as psychological well-being, social functioning, physical functioning, and issues related to obesity surgery and obesity-related comorbidities. The survey consists of 15 questions addressing postoperative symptoms, one question about medications, and 14 items that utilize a 5-point Likert scale to evaluate quality of life.
The measure is divided into two parts. The first part assesses the presence of common somatic complaints experienced by people who have undergone bariatric surgery (e.g., “Do you suffer from heartburn?”) and inquires about medication taken by the respondent. The second part evaluates how the individual is adjusting socially, psychologically, and emotionally post-surgery and how their quality of life has been impacted (e.g., “I often meet with family or friends.”). Response options vary. For example, one option ranges from "Absolutely wrong” (1) to "Absolutely right” (5). The BQL is often used in clinical and research settings to monitor the emotional effects and quality of life changes following bariatric surgery. The BQL is particularly useful for understanding patient outcomes in a holistic manner, beyond just weight loss metrics, making it a valuable tool for evaluating long-term success following bariatric surgery.
Assessment Administration Type
Self-report
Number of questions
16 (Blueprint has broken down measure into 32 items due to formatting)
Age Range for Administration
18+
Recommended Frequency of Administration
No recommended standard frequency; Blueprint recommends monthly.
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
Part 1 responses are scored as .5 for every symptom that is checked (items 1-15 and item 17). For every item that is a 'yes' or that is checked, it receives a 0. Part 2 responses are provided on a scale of 1 to 5. Items 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, and 31 are reverse-scored. To find the total score of the BQL sum the responses for all items. The total score can range from 14 to 78. Lower scores indicate poorer outcomes and a lower quality of life, while higher scores reflect better psychological, social, and physical functioning.
Blueprint Adjustments
Due to scoring capacities on Blueprint, items are broken down slightly differently on the Blueprint platform. Because of this and other changes to accommodate the platform’s formatting and scoring requirements, our measure might look slightly different compared to the paper and pencil version.
You will also note that we used the language of the original measure (Weiner et al., 2005), although we addressed the typographical errors noted by Alley and colleagues (2012).
Clinical Considerations
Estimated completion time: 4-8 minutes
Citation
Relevant Articles + Further Resources
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