Evaluating service users’ quality of life
Intended for healthcare professionals
Art & Science Previous     Next

Evaluating service users’ quality of life

Carly Jeffery Assistant psychologist, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Buckinghamshire
Barbara Hurtado Psychologist, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Buckinghamshire

Carly Jeffery and Barbara Hurtado ask whether Maslow’s Assessment of Needs Scale gives an accurate picture of clients’ requirements

The Maslow Assessment of Needs Scale for Learning Disabilities (MANS-LD) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL-8) are measures to assess quality of life for people with learning disabilities. This article describes how a specialist acute assessment and treatment service for adults with learning disabilities, complex needs and challenging behaviours evaluated the use of these instruments to assess clients’ perceived quality of life. Most service users found the MANS-LD too demanding on account of its length, the complexity of questions and the need to think retrospectively. The WHOQOL-8 was accessible to the larger majority and was therefore more robust as a measure in these circumstances. However, both tools were invaluable in generating revealing conversations with responders about important topics that might otherwise be overlooked. As the article makes clear, such scales should be completed with service users through discussion, rather than asking them to accomplish this themselves.

Learning Disability Practice. 18, 2, 16-21. doi: 10.7748/ldp.18.2.16.e1623

Correspondence

barbara.hurtado@nhs.net

Peer review

This article has been subject to double blind peer review

Conflict of interest

None declared

Received: 15 December 2014

Accepted: 09 January 2015

Want to read more?

RCNi-Plus
Already have access? Log in

or

3-month trial offer for £5.25/month

Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months
RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:
  • Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
  • RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
  • NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
  • Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
  • A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics
Subscribe

Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now


Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more