Detailled Information

Katz PP, Morris A, Yelin EH. Prevalence and predictors of disability in valued life activities among individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2006 Jun;65(6):763-9.

Development and validation of a short form of the valued life activities disability questionnaire for rheumatoid arthritis.

Disability in valued life activities among individuals with COPD and other respiratory conditions

Measures of Participation in Persons With Musculoskeletal Conditions

Validation and internal consistency of the Swedish version of the Valued Life Activities scale

The original version of the VLA was developed and validated in the United States. The aim was to assess participation in valued life activities. Valued life activities were defied as activities that the person actually does and that are important.

The questionnaire includes activities for which one can report difficulty performing an activity, whether an activity is relevant or not, and how important the activity is to the individual. The 26 activities represent a wide spectrum of participation and were derived theoretically from the disablement process model and from interviews with patients with rheumatoid arthritis who stated that activities were often affected by the disease. They have also been linked to the activities covered in ICF chapters two through nine. The activities could be clustered in three different types of activities: obligatory (eg, self-care), committed, or discretionary activities (eg, recreation and social participation). Obligatory activities are those required for survival and self-sufficiency, including activities of daily living, such as hygiene and self-care, walking inside, walking outside, and using transportation or driving. Committed activities are those associated with one's principal productive social roles, such as paid work, household responsibilities, and child and family care. Discretionary activities are activities such as socializing, exercise, engaging in leisure-time activities and pastimes, participating in religious or spiritual activities, pursuing volunteer work or hobbies, or other activities that individuals engage in for relaxation and pleasure.

Activities that are scored as applicable and important are rated according to difficulty by using a four-point Likert scale in which 0 represents no difficulty and 3 represents inablity to perform. Both help from another person and use of accommodation is scored as “yes” or “no” in each performance-rated activity.

Three types of VLA summary scores can be calculated: the number of activities that individuals are completely unable to do because of their condition (unable), the number of activities that are affected by the condition (unable to do or any level of difficulty; affected), and the average difficulty score (difficulty). All scores are calculated for the total VLA and for the obligatory, committed, and discretionary subscales. Activities that participants deem unimportant to them or that they did not do for reasons unrelated to rheumatoid arthritis are not rated and are not included in scoring. Use of help from another person or use of accommodations are not included in the score