This research program on health-related quality of life measurement is funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). NIA is one of 27 institutions and centers of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and leads a broad scientific effort to understand the nature of aging in order to extend healthy, active years of life for the U.S. population.

NIA’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of older Americans through research and, more specifically, to:

• Support and conduct high-quality research on aging processes, age-related diseases, and special problems and needs of the aged.
• Train and develop highly skilled research scientists from all population groups.
• Develop and maintain state-of-the-art resources to accelerate research progress.
• Disseminate information and communicate with the public and interested groups on health and research advances, and on new directions for research on aging.

An agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is the federal government’s focal point for health research and one of the world’s foremost medical research centers. Its mission is to pursue fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems, and the application of that knowledge to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability. NIH’s goals are as follows:

• To foster fundamental creative discoveries, innovative research strategies and their applications as a basis to advance significantly the nation’s capacity to protect and improve health
• To develop, maintain, and renew human and physical scientific resources that will assure the nation’s capability to prevent disease.
• To expand the knowledge base in medical and associated sciences in order to enhance the nation’s economic well-being and ensure a continued high return on the public investment in research.
• To exemplify and promote the highest level of scientific integrity, public accountability, and social responsibility in the sciences.