WELLBEING AND QOL W4

Learning outcomes 1 Describe the meaning of well being 2 Explain the relationship between well-being and quality of life

Three Pillars of Sustainable Development Social Wellbeing Economic Wellbeing Environmental Wellbeing

What is wellbeing? In general term well –being means a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous. It is also synonymous to happiness It is used for individual being and social systems

Concept of Wellbeing An ambiguous concept, lacking a universally acceptable definition and often faced with competing interpretations. Wellbeing is a notion that people and policymakers generally aspire to improve.

Definition of wellbeing Wellbeing is generally viewed as a description of the state of people’s life situation (McGillivray 2007, p. 3).

Measurement of Wellbeing Objective Measure Income GDP Subjective measure Personal measure

OBJECTIVE MEASURE of wellbeing OBSERVABLE HARD FACTS AND FIGURE Economic data – income in RM Social data-living space in square meters. Environmental data- percentage of clean river

Material wellbeing measured by income or GDP. OBJECTIVE MEASuRE One dimension Material wellbeing measured by income or GDP. The link between income and wellbeing rests on the assumption that income allows increases in consumption and consumption increases utility (preferences in meeting desires and wants).

GDP does not capture all the aspects of human life. OBJECTIVE MEASuRE Multi Dimensional GDP does not capture all the aspects of human life. Wellbeing encompasses broader dimensions such as social and environmental aspects, and human rights. Since the 1970s many non-economic indicators have been created to complement GDP. Indicators in areas such as education, health and nutrition, environment and empowerment and participation have been elaborated to complement GDP.

OBJECTIVE MEASuRE Wellbeing Index Composite measures that would capture the multidimensional aspect of wellbeing. Constructed using different components, weighted in some way to form a single index. Examples: 1) Human Development Index (HDI) (1990) combining income per capita, life expectancy at birth, adult literacy and education enrollment ratios. 2) Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) (1979) combined infant mortality, life expectancy and adult literacy

Subjective wellbeing Subjective measures ‘soft’ matters such as self reported happiness and life satisfaction, satisfaction with income and perceived adequacy of dwelling. Some economists use the phrase “subjective wellbeing” as a synonym for “happiness” but in psychology, happiness is a narrower concept than SWB.

Definition of SWB Veenhoven (1984) defines subjective wellbeing as a degree to which an individual judges the overall quality of her/his life as a whole in a favourable way. McGillivray and Clarke (2006, p. 4) state that “subjective wellbeing involves a multidimensional evaluation of life, including cognitive judgments of life satisfaction and affective evaluations of emotions and moods.”

+ SWB Indicate a person’s level of happiness individuals’ perceived Life satisfaction Indicate a person’s level of happiness individuals’ perceived distance from their aspirations +

Measures of Happiness Self reported level of happiness Rating of the level of happiness Objectively using brain wave measure

Example of Dimensions of Happiness Measure Happiness is defined as the degree to which an individual judges the overall quality of her/his life as-a- whole favorably. Four main dimensions: Happiness Possession Satisfaction of Needs Self Actualization Comparing Past Experiences ENVIS Centre on Human Settlement- Department Of Environmental Planning, SPA, New Delhi

Why QOL? QOL emerged and discussed for 3 concerns: 1. The feeling on the part of modern industrial society, despite impressive gains in affluence, ease of communication and leisure, has not made any significant overall progress in improving man’s lot. Mankind prospect is less attractive than they were 25 years ago. 2. The desire for an index of social well-being analogous to measures of economic wellbeing. This measurement can provide for purposes of government decision-making and intellectual interest to measure social progress. 3. Understanding, measurement, improvement of human experiences have been the major goals of individual, community and government.

General meaning of QOL QOL represent either how well human needs are met or the extent to which individuals or group perceived satisfaction or dissatisfaction in various life domains.

Method of measurement 1.Use quantifiable, objective measure of social/ or economic indicators to reflect the extent to which human needs are met; 2. Self reported levels of happiness, pleasure, fulfillment and alike which is termed well-being.

Objective Measure Center on economic, social, health and environmental indicators. Economic- income, poverty level Social- unemployment rate, accident rate at workplace Health- life expectancy, doctor population ratio Environment- water quality, air quality

Subjective Measure Typically focus on personal reports of life experiences that complement social, economic and health indicators. QOL is primarily a subjective sense of well-being, a proxy used for QOL

Issues with Subjective Measure People judge their well-being in comparison with peer groups than in absolute terms Influence of cultural and religious norms May be bound by time, socio- demographic factors etc.

Integrative definition of QOL A more complete picture of QOL at multiple spatial (space/places) and temporal ( time) scale. Both objective and subjective measures independently has some limitations. A combined approach of subjective and objective measures of QOL is proposed.

Integrative Definition of QOL QOL is the extent to which objective human needs are fulfilled in relation to personal or group perceptions of subjective well-being (SWB).

Human Needs

SWB SWB is individual’s or groups’ responses to questions regarding happiness, life satisfaction, utility or welfare.

Relationship between variables The relation between specific human needs and perceived satisfaction with each of them is affected by mental capacity, cultural context, information, education, temperament etc in a complex manner.

Relationship between variables The relation between fulfillment of those needs and overall subjective well-being is affected by weightage/importance individuals, groups and culture give to fulfilling of each of those needs relative to others.

QUALITY OF LIFE OPPOTUNITIES to meet human needs HUMAN NEEDS How needs are met HUMAN NEEDS Subsistence Reproduction Security Affection Understanding Participation Leisure Creativity Identity Freedom How need fulfillment is perceived SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING Happiness, Utility Welfare

Opportunities The ability to satisfy basic human needs come from the opportunities available and constructed from social, built, human and natural capital. Policy and culture help allocate the four types of capital as a means of providing these opportunities

Types of Capital Social capital- network and norms that facilitate cooperative actions Human capital –knowledge and information stored in our brain and our labour Built capital- manufactured goods and services such as tools, equipment, building Natural capital- renewable and non renewable good and services provided by ecosystem

Examples of Indicators for measuring needs at individual and national scales Individual Scale National Scale Subsistance Self reports on calorie intake, access to clean water, air, health care National data on: calorie deficiencies; Affection Self report on level of attachment to others National data on suicide, homicide Leisure Self report on time use, activities pursued and money spent National data on time use, money spent and activities involved Security Self report on who provide care in case of illnesses, care for elderly National data on nursing home, multigenerational household

Conclusion The concept of QOL has been conceptualised differently by different QOL researchers. QOL concept can be viewed by these theoretical perspectives: Ideal theories Personal utility theories QOL as happiness versus life satisfaction Opulence theories Theories of the just society The needs approach The social judgment approach

Framework for measuring QOL Some international frameworks and methodology have set the foundation for QOL indicator research. • United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 • Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements, 1976 • Habitat Agenda- Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements, 1996 • Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium, 2001 • Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), 2001 • State of the World’s Cities 2008/2009- “Harmonious Cities” • United Nations Human Development Index