Quality of life : comparing the quality of life of people with an intellectual disability within institutions and those living within the community

Abstract

This study aims to find the difference in the quality of life of people with an intellectual disability who are residing in a community home compared with those residing in an institution - Mount Carmel Hospital. The main reason why this study was completed is due to the fact society thinks that people with intellectual disability who live in community homes have a better quality of life than those living in Mount Carmel Hospital. The results show clearly that this is true. However, the findings also show that living in a community home can still reduce the amount of freedom, independence and choice; a basic right which improves the quality of life of individuals. Furthermore, throughout this research, the way social workers can improve the quality of life of people with intellectual disability was highlighted. The sample used in this study comprised ten respondents with an intellectual disability. Five of these were from Mount Carmel Hospital, and another five were from 'Tajra Home' (a pseudonym was used for this home to respect the research participant's confidentiality). I first spent twenty hours carrying out observations and these were shared equally between the two entities. Through the observations I managed to engage with clients and observe them in a natural setting. In addition to this, structured interviews with visual aids were used with all the research participants in order to facilitate their level of understanding since some had communication difficulties. Also, semi-structured interviews were used with the staff. These interviews were useful to get a better understanding of the daily viii routine of people in both types of living arrangements, and also to make sure that these routines are equivalent to those mentioned by the clients.