Quality of Life: Its Application to Persons With Intellectual Disabilities and Their Families—Introduction and Overview

TLDR

Quality of life (QoL) in intellectual disabilities is conceptualized as a sensitizing notion that guides individuals and their environments, and the authors provide an overview and framework for applying QoL concepts. The authors aim to present an organizing framework for applying QoL concepts to individuals, groups, and families in intellectual disabilities. They conclude that QoL evidence must be proactively identified, methodologically sound, include quantitative and qualitative data, capture inter‑ and intra‑individual variability, and reflect lifespan and cultural changes. The framework applies to individuals, groups, and families and frames evaluation strategies for QoL research.

Abstract

Abstract The authors provide an overview of quality of life (QoL) conceptualization in the field of intellectual disabilities (ID), provide background information, and set an organizing framework for presenting concepts and concrete ideas for applying QoL. This framework is useful for three broad categories of application in the field of ID that form the application of QoL to individuals, groups of individuals, and to families. QoL thus can be used as a sensitizing notion that gives a sense of reference and guidance from the individual's perspective, focusing on the person and the individual's environment and provides a framework for conceptualizing, measuring, and applying the QoL construct. The applications also frame evaluation strategies for QoL research. The authors conclude that there is a need to identify relevant QoL evidence from the literature in a proactive way, and to ensure that it is methodologically sound, provides both quantitative and qualitative data, represents inter‐ and intra‐individual variability, and illustrates changes over both the lifespan and across cultural settings.