Quality of life and social integration of severely mentally ill patients: a longitudinal study

The quality of life concept serves to measure functional changes and program outcome. Patients with schizophrenia have an improved prognosis. Is quality of life improving over time, and if so, over what period? These questions were addressed in a longitudinal study where subjective quality of life (SQOL) was rated by severely mentally ill patients living in the community and using support services located in an outlying area of Quebec. The Satisfaction for Life Domains Scale (SLDS) (Baker and Intagliata 1982) measuring SQOL as a whole and in specific domains (for example, housing, finances, social relationships) was repeated over a period of 7 y. Results show that SQOL ratings received the same scores after 7 y. Functional status was decreased, while social integration improved and more services were used. The results could be due to sample characteristics or to the ambiguity of the SQOL construct. In our opinion, extensive community-based support services may have played a key role in the maintenance of patient's quality of life.