title: Quality of life for patients with a personality disorder comparison of patients in two settings: an English special hospital and a Dutch TBS clinic.
abstract: INTRODUCTION: There are differing approaches to the management of people with a severe personality disorder in the UK and The Netherlands. Few comparative studies exist. This study describes the use of an adapted version of the Lancashire Quality of life profile as a patient based-outcome measure. METHOD: A cross-sectional sample of 37 patients was interviewed at each site. RESULT: Patients in the Dutch service reported a significantly higher quality of life which could not be explained by better objective circumstances. DISCUSSION: The data collected do not explain why the Dutch patients reported a higher quality of life. It is suggested that this finding was related to more extensive therapeutic activity and greater therapeutic optimism in the Dutch service. There is a need for critical scrutiny of the appropriateness of quality of life measures in offender patients before they are accepted for use as an outcome measure.
authors.affiliation: Ashworth Hospital, Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Swinton
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Carlisle
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oliver