Quality of life of people with intellectual disability in different types of housing

Abstract

© 2018 Institute of Special Education and Rehablitation. All rights reserved. Background: Supported housing services for people with intellectual disability (ID) enables them to live in the least restrictive environment, providing them with adequate accommodation, professional support and community inclusion. In order to improve the quality of social care services, it is necessary to take into account the service user's subjective experience and objective indicators of the quality of support, and the research on the various types of supported services that could be linked to the quality of life of people with ID. Method: The objective of this research was to determine the nature of the relationship between the quality of life and the types of housing for people with ID. The study investigated 122 adults with ID, whose ages ranged from 17 to 79 years. The research sample was divided into three sub-samples according to the types of housing: institutions (n=51), families (n=38) and those included in the supported housing programme (n=33). A research instrument used was Comprehensive Quality Of Life Scale. Results: The results from this study show that people with ID who receive supported housing services express greater satisfaction with the quality of life compared to the other two sub-samples as well as having a better quality of life compared to respondents living in institution. Conclusions: The type of housing is significantly associated with the quality of life for people with ID and importance they attribute to various categories of quality of life and the feeling of life satisfaction derived from personal accomplishments and the experience of social belonging.