Quality of Life for Adults with Learning Disabilities in Private Residential Care: Monitoring Aspects of Life Experiences Over Time

Abstract

The Quality of Life (QoL) of a sample of 56 adults with Learning Disabilities was studied longitudinally over 18 months while they lived in community-based private residential homes. Six homes participated in the study. The Life Experiences Checklist (L.E.C) Ager, 1990, 1998), which considers a person’s home environment, leisure, freedom, relationships and opportunities, was used as a measure of QoL. The L.E.C was administered to participants on three occasions at approximately six-monthly intervals. Simple feedback reports giving overall results for the L.E.C (and other measures) were produced for each home at the end of each of these three phases. The L.E.C. results showed that overall participants’ QoL changed significantly over the course of the study, with assessed QoL peaking at phase two after homes had received the first feedback report, and decreasing to near phase one levels by the end of the study. People living in one of the homes, however, sustained the observed improvement in QoL over time. Comparisons were drawn between the L.E.C results for the sample and the general population living in the same area. The sample experienced a lower QoL than the general population regarding Relationships, Opportunities and Freedom L.E.C. sub-scales and had a comparable QoL regarding the Home sub scale, and higher scores with respect to the Leisure sub-scale. Results are discussed in terms of subjective and objective QoL measurement as an indicator of quality of service provision and in particular the effects of feedback and monitoring per se. It is apparent that in the absence of intervention no sustained improvements in QoL are seen in this sample.