Title: A novel tool for quality-of-life assessment in the household context

Authors: Montagu Murray; Christiaan Pauw

Addresses: Department of Religion Studies, Faculty of Theology and Religion, Nova Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa ' Department of Religion Studies, Faculty of Theology and Religion, Nova Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract: This article describes the development and application of an original quality-of-life assessment tool. Part 1 reflects on how the practical challenges the Nova Institute faces working in the low-income context in South Africa inspired us to develop an original quality-of-life assessment tool. Part 2 examines how this endeavour builds on the insights of quality-of-life studies as a sub-discipline of sociology, but specifically also on the conceptual work of Manfred Max-Neef. Part 3 describes the methods used to design a quality-of-life assessment tool and explains how Max-Neef's concepts are expounded to develop the tool. Part 4 presents an example from the results of a general household survey in more than a thousand households, together with an in-depth quality-of-life assessment in 46 of these households, to illustrate the application of the tool. We conclude that the tool provides a practical way to sensibly combine subjective and objective indicators in quality-of-life analysis.

Keywords: Max-Neef; needs theory; human scale development; quality of life studies; social indicators; fundamental human needs; quality of life assessment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSD.2022.126474

International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2022 Vol.25 No.1/2, pp.95 - 113

Received: 13 May 2021
Received in revised form: 30 Apr 2022
Accepted: 03 May 2022
Published online: 26 Oct 2022 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article