Quality of life among Disabled and Non-Disabled Individuals A Comparative Study

The aim of this study was to identify the quality of life (QOL) measures commonly used to assess disabled people compared to healthy individuals. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 1000 disabled and healthy individuals aged between 15 to 75 years old during 2009 year. These groups were selected by random sampling method multistage cluster sampling from Crescent Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center located in Tehran. WHO's Quality of Life (WHOQOL-100) questionnaire was used to measure quality of life. The Mean age were 35.9±12.9 and 35.1±12.7 years amongst disabled and non disabled groups, respectively. There was a significant difference between two groups in terms of somatic health and independence of quality of life (P<0.001), in which the mean score in both domains were high in healthy individuals. No significant difference was observed between two groups in other scopes. Findings of this study highlighted the lower quality of life in disabled people in Tehran, Therefore this group should be targeted for any relevant intervention in order to improve their care.