Samenvatting

Purpose To provide a qualitative investigation of aspects that matter to patients regarding quality of life (QOL) and other perceived treatment effects of anthroposophic healthcare (AH). It is a first step in the development of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) for AH.Hence, it will contribute to the evaluation of AH quality from patients’ perspectives.Method Within-method triangulation of four qualitative data sources is: (1) Survey of 2063 patients of AH general practitioners; single open item; (2) Survey of 34 patients ofAH nurses; single open item; (3) and (4) Sixteen semi-structured interviews with patients. The data sources contained patients’ qualitative reports on contribution of treatment to QOL, other perceived treatment effect s and/or quality of care aspects. Content analysis Construction of items and domains by open, axial and selective coding.Results Twelve domains regarding quality of life are found: Recovery/Symptom reduction, Active contribution/Autonomy, General well-being, Meaning, Rest/Relaxation,Functioning, Energy /Strength, Care relationship, Natural healing, Mindful inner attitude, Being well informed andSocial relations. The interviews demonstrate relations between domains.Conclusions The findings give a comprehensive insight into aspects of care that are relevant to patients, providing a first step to develop PROMs for AH. Findings show abroadening of domains compared to existing measurement instruments and show close similarities with the recently developed concept of ‘‘positive health.’’ Extending QOL instruments with a broader set of domains would give concrete tools to improve evaluation of quality of care and make this evaluation more in line with aspects that matter to AH patients.