Work status, daily activities and quality of life among people with severe mental illness.
OBJECTIVE
Work is often a desired goal for people with mental illness, as expressed by both themselves and their relatives. This study investigated the importance of work status, everyday activities and objective life indices for subjective quality of life, with a special focus on quality of life domains.


METHODS
The sample consisted of 103 individuals with severe mental illness in Sweden, a majority of whom had schizophrenia. Interview-based questionnaires were used to assess quality of life (MANSA) and activity factors (SDO, OVal-pd).


RESULTS
Work status and activity in terms of actual doing were of some, but minor, importance to subjective quality of life domains, whereas satisfying and valuable activities were consistently associated with most quality of life domains.


CONCLUSIONS
Although no causal relationship could be established, the findings indicate that open-market work might not be decisive for subjective quality of life, but that satisfying and meaningful everyday activities could contribute to a better life quality for those who have a severe and lasting mental illness.
Eklund
Mona
M
Division of Occupational Therapy and Gerontology, Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, P.O. Box 157, 221 00, Lund, Sweden. mona.eklund@med.lu.se
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D011788:Quality of Life