To assess and compare the subjective rating of quality of life (QOL) in psychiatric patients who attended two psychiatric outpatient clinics in Baghdad city [Al-Rashad psychiatric teaching hospital and Baghdad teaching hospital]. In addition, it also aims at studying the effect of socio-demographic and clinical characteristics on the patients’ life qualities.

A sample of one hundred patients divided equally into two groups (fifty patient) from each hospital were interviewed and diagnosed in accordance with the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria, for the period (from the 1st of March to the 1st of September 2011). The Arabic modified version of WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire (modified by WHO) was applied on each patient.

Data gathered from completed hundred forms showed that 50% of patients from Baghdad teaching hospital responded and scored (fair, acceptable) to describe their satisfaction in overall QOL, while (38%) of patients from Al-Rashad teaching mental hospital scored (bad) and (16%) scored (very bad). There was no significant difference in the four domains of QOL between the two studied groups. The findings were discussed accordingly.

This study showed that although the overall satisfaction of the patients’ life quality was higher in patients from Baghdad teaching hospital than those of Al-Rashad teaching mental hospital, a non-significant difference in the four domains between the two hospitals was found. The socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were not significantly correlated to the QOL domains except for the educational level, which was significantly correlated, with the physical health domain in patients from Al-Rashad teaching mental hospital.

The author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.