Institutes > IRQV > The Institute > Introduction
Go to content (click on Intro)
UdG Home UdG Home
Close
Menu

Quality of Life Research Institute (IRQV)

Presentation

We at the IRQV aim to bring knowledge and tools to help to meet some of the main needs in quality of life in today's society.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on people’s mental health and well-being all over the world. This features in the recent report Mental Health and COVID-19: early evidence of the pandemic impact from the World Health Organisation (2022), and which is referred to Consejo General de la Psicología en España (Infocop, 2022).

The results of this report, based on a study of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, indicate that there has been a 25% rise in cases of anxiety and depression disorders. An increase in the risk of suicidal behaviour and self-harm has also been observed, among young people in particular, as well as a greater risk of mental disorders developing among women than among men.

The IRQV understands quality of life from two perspectives: health and well-being.

As regards health-related orientation, this is mainly based on the bio-psycho-social model and preference given to disease prevention and health promotion. A study is therefore being made of the subjective side to quality of life, in other words, how people perceive and report it, regardless of how their physical state of health has been assessed with objective methods. More specifically, we are carrying out research in substance addictions, risk behaviours and prevention in vehicle driving, risky sexual behaviours, stress and pain, emotional well-being and neurology and learning.

Quality of life relating to well-being is understood as a function of the material and psychosocial environments. The proposal here is for deeper knowledge to be gained of not just the material conditions but also the perceptions, evaluations and aspirations of people that make up their personal and social "well-being". More specifically, we are carrying out research into well-being, satisfaction and aspired values, social inequalities and citizen participation, children's rights, psychosocial intervention and quality of life, and use of audiovisual media.

Likewise, the IRQV opts for the gender perspective in its research dealing with attention and analysis according to need, and with specific lines of research that focus on gender violence, institutional violence (health, education) and the psycho-sociological aspects of micromachism.

Our research deals with the general population as well as time specific groups such as children, teenagers, young adults, the elderly, healthcare professionals, the homeless and drug addicts, among others. So the results of the IRQV's research may be useful for these specific groups while helping too with decision-taking in public-health policies. 

Most of the results of this research is published in international scientific journals as contributions to the advancement of knowledge relating to quality of life.

IRQV members are also continually disseminating the results of their research to the mass media and social networks and in local, national and international talks, conferences and lectures.

Choose which types of cookies you accept which the University of Girona can store in your browser.

Those that are essential for enabling your connection. There is no option for disabling them, as they are necessary for the functioning of the website.

These enable your options to be remembered (for example language or region you are accessing from), to provide you with advanced services.

They provide statistical information and enable improved services. We use Google Analytics cookies which you can deactivate by installing this plugin.

To offer advertising contents relating to the interests of users, either directly, or through third parties (“adservers”). These must be activated if you wish to see the YouTube videos uploaded to the University of Girona’s website.