PRESENTATION

The I.R.Q.V. was created in April 1997 to promote and develop scientific research in the field of social welfare, psychological well-being and quality of life. It was started by a group of 46 researchers from the Departments of Psychology, Education, Nursing, Economics, Management, and Geography, History & Art History. Now it includes 47 researchers and a new department, organization, management and product design. It is based, therefore, on an interdisciplinary perspective.

The I.R.Q.V. conceptualizes quality of life as a function of the material and psycho-social environment. In coherence with this statement, the Institute is interested in improving knowledge of both the material conditions of living and people’s perceptions, evaluations and aspirations in relation to their personal and social well-being. This purpose refers both to the whole population of a geographical area and to members of specific groups of people in society.

DIRECTION AND SECRETARY

GOALS

• Developing basic and applied research referred to quality of life, mainly on interdisciplinary perspectives, at local, regional, national and international levels.

• Cooperating with other institutions, organizations and networks, both public and private, at regional, national and international levels, in order to promote and develop research or/and activities related to the quality of life.

• Training researchers in this field and stimulating their scientific, technical and educational updating.

• Developing technical advisory activities for institutions and organizations in this field.

• Organizing doctorate training, and specialization courses related to welfare, well-being and quality of life.

• Organizing a fund of reference documents on the quality of life, with particular focus in Catalonia.

• Promoting dissemination and applicability of general knowledge on the quality of life, and particularly research findings referring to Catalonia.

In addition to the research itself and training for research activities, the IRQV wants to promote and facilitate:

• Scientific debates related to quality of life.

• Scientific-professional seminars, meetings and conferences, at national or international level.

• Dissemination and publication of research results.

• Organization of other activities and meetings related to welfare, well-being and quality of life.

The IRQV also has the purpose of organizing an information base, and to offer, first to its members and collaborators, the following information related to welfare, well-being and quality of life, on:

• Bibliography and evaluation instruments.
• Researchers, research networks and research centers.

• Scientific events and activities, nationally and internationally.

AREAS OF BASIC INTEREST

Initially the IRQV areas of interest have been grouped into four big clusters:

a) Perceptions and evaluations of well-being.

b) Social needs, social problems, and social rights.

c) Epistemology and methodology of the study of quality of life.

d) Culture, new technologies and the quality of life.

The IRQV’s annual program establishes priorities for every year.

ACTIVITIES

Own publication line

Conference organization

The most relevant activity of the IRQV during the last years has been the organization of the Third Conference of the International Society for Quality of Life Studies (ISQOLS), for the first time in Europe. 221 researchers of 32 different countries took part, of which 96 were  ISQOLS members, 27 belonged to the Universitat de Girona, and 8 were invited speakers. A part from the opening speeches and the 8 invited talks, 199 papers were presented in 17 different areas.

INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

The IRQV wishes to collaborate with private and public organizations, and also with national and international networks expressing common interests, regarding any aspect of quality of life. Researchers from the Institute linked to the childhood research line are taking part in the Catalan Interdisciplinary Network of Researchers on Children’s Rights and Children’s Quality of Life (X.C.I.I.I.), which is a Thematic Network supported by the Universities Commission of the Generalitat of Catalonia (regional Government).

The institutions with which the IRQV has cooperated include the communities of Girona, Olot and Lleida, the Institut d’Infància i Món Urbà, Childwatch International, the universities of Matanza (Argentina), Gent (Belgium) and Autónoma de México, the Institut d’Assistència Sanitària, the Institut Català de la Dona, the Centre de Recerca en Economia i Salut, the Red Cross, Espiral-entitat de serveis, the Consell Comarcal de la Garrotxa, the Departament de Sanitat i Seguretat Social de la Generalitat de Catalunya, PAU Education and the Diputació de Girona.

RESEARCH LINES

• Childhood

Research on the quality of life of children and adolescents has been defined as a priority by IRQV from the beginning. Among others, research on the following topics has been developing: Contexts of child development. Perceptions of risk and protection factors by practitioners in the child protection system. Children’s rights. Time distribution among children. Risk behavior of the young in leisure time. Poverty and development in infancy. Childhood and audiovisual media.

The third research line considered as a priority from the start of the IRQV has been health promotion for all groups of people. Research has been developing mainly on the following topics: Training needs of resident health professionals. Factors influencing behavior which carries a health risk and the prevention of illness.

IRQV research is not limited to the research lines considered as a priority from its creation. In fact, among other topics, the following are also being investigated: Evaluation of social intervention programs, equality of opportunities for women, the needs of elderly people living alone and methodology of well-being studies.

The IRQV maintains availability to extend its activities to other topics related with welfare, well-being and the quality of life.

SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTION 2000-2003

The scientific production of the IRQV during these years includes 144 publications, some of them in journals like Social Indicators Research, Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Accident Analysis and Prevention, Journal of Applied Behaviour Analysis, Schizofrenia Research, European Journal of Public Health, Environmental Health Perspectives, American Journal of Epidemiology, European Journal of Epidemiology, Statistics in Medicine, Structural Equation Modeling, Social Networks, Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Medicina Clínica, Health Care management Science, Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, Psicothema and Psychology in Spain.

Click here for a complete list of all these items.

POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMMES

Since the academic year 2002/2003, the IRQV offers the PhD programme Psychology and Quality of Life, co organized with the Psychology Department of the University of  Girona and the Catalan Interdisciplinary Network of Researchers on Children’s Rights and Children’s Quality of Life (X.C.I.I.I.), Faculty members include specialists from universities and specialised research centers all around Spain.

MEMBERS AND SECTIONS
 

The IRQV is organised in three sections:

• Childhood research (Chair: Marta Sadurní).
• Social well-being research (Chair: Montserrat Planes)
• Postgraduate education section (Chair: Carles Rostan)

The table below provides the names, departments, E-mails and sections of all researchers of the Universitat de Girona who are IRQV members.

   Webmaster: isabel.moradell@pas.udg.es  Last modified: 28/03/06