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Quality of life and standard of living in a randomly selected group of psychiatrically disabled people in Sweden 2 years after a psychiatry reform

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

I. Carlsson*
Affiliation:
Clinical Department of Psychiatry, Göteborg University, Mölndal, Sweden
S.-O. Frederiksen
Affiliation:
Clinical Department of Psychiatry, Göteborg University, Mölndal, Sweden
C.-G. Gottfries
Affiliation:
Clinical Department of Psychiatry, Göteborg University, Mölndal, Sweden
*
*Corresponding author. Box 3150, 47415 Gullholmen, Sweden. E-mail address: stigca@hotmail.com (I. Carlsson).
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Summary

In Sweden, a psychiatry reform, aimed at improving the living conditions of the psychiatrically disabled, came into force in 1995. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the reform by investigating quality of life and standard of living 2 years later in a randomly selected group of people with longstanding psychiatric disability. Self-ratings and interviews were conducted in a study group and a control group. The study group consisted of 19 women and 18 men (mean age 46.1 years) diagnosed with neurosis, schizophrenia or affective disorder. The control group consisted of 19 women and 17 men (mean age 48.7 years). Self-rated quality of life was significantly poorer in the study group (P < 0.0001, unpaired t-test), and so was housing (P < 0.001, test of similar proportions in independent samples). We found no significant positive correlation between subjective quality of life and standard of living in either group but a significant negative correlation in the control group (P < 0.05; r = 0.40, Pearson correlation coefficient). The results suggest that, in 1997, people with longstanding psychiatric disability still had poorer quality of life than the general population. This may be due to factors other than outward standard of living.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS 2002

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