**2.3.1 Hepatitis quality of life questionnaire (HQLQ) (Bayliss, 1998)**

In addition to a standard SF-36 generic core, comprised of eight scales, HQLQ contains five generic items consisting of two questions for the social functioning scale and one question each for physical role, emotional role and vitality scales to augment existing SF-36 scales. HQLQ is addressed only to hepatitis C patients. This instrument will be useful in studies of health outcome among patients with chronic hepatitis C, a condition whose health burden appears to have been underestimated in studies to date.
