The text of the first edition of this book argued
in 1987 that no concise source of information
on health measurement methods existed; at the
time, this appeared to be a significant problem
for epidemiological and health care researchers.
The methods in question cover a variety of topics,
including physical disability, emotional and
social well-being, pain, life satisfaction, general
health status, and quality of life. Several books
reviewing health measurements later appeared
in the early 1990s, validating our original argument
(1–3). Nonetheless, it remained challenging
to keep pace with the rapid development of
the field, and descriptions of methods were
widely scattered in social science, medical,
management, and methodological journals. The
second edition of this book, in 1996, included a
broader range of instruments than the first; the
book grew from 340 to 520 pages. The goal
was still to provide reasonably detailed, although
not exhaustive, information on a selection
of leading instruments. During the second
half of the 1990s, several Web sites were established
to provide brief overviews of measures,
but these generally did not provide detailed reviews.
These sites are useful in raising awareness
of the range of instruments available but
they rarely provide sufficient information to
help readers choose among rival instruments.
Furthermore, the quality of the sites varies, and
some include information that is simply incorrect.
Hence, this third edition of Measuring
Health seeks to fill a niche by providing accurate
and reasonably detailed information on a
selection of the most commonly used instruments.