Description of environmental determinants of quality of life in children with intellectual disability in Japan using the Delphi technique.
OBJECTIVE
The present study aimed to define the framework of an environment conducive to the well-being of children with intellectually disability (CID).


METHODS
A questionnaire composed of 31 items was developed through literature review. Then a 2-round Delphi survey was conducted with 3 different panels: health professionals (HPs), parents of CID, and teachers. The participants were asked to rate each item, select and rank the 10 most important items, and suggest additional ones.


RESULTS
A total of 71 participants responded to the first round: 24 HPs, 22 parents, and 25 teachers. In the second round the overall response rate was 83%. At the end of the exercise, 12 items reached global consensus, i.e., in all groups. Only 5 items were ranked as most important by all groups: attitudes of family members at home; attitudes of HPs and teachers; support from family members at home; support at school (classmates and teachers); and government policies. Nevertheless, the panelists' views diverged on the remaining items. Several additional elements were suggested.


CONCLUSIONS
The views of HPs, teachers, and parents are complementary for the improvement of quality of life (QOL) of CID. The present findings will be used as a basis for the development of an instrument to assess the living environment of CID.
Kalay
Luyinga
L
Department of Preventive and Environmental Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Kumamoto, 860-8556, Japan, anifakalay@yahoo.fr.
Fujimori
Saeko
S
Suzuki
Hanako
H
Minamoto
Keiko
K
Ueda
Kimiyo
K
Wei
Chang-Nian
CN
Tomoda
Akemi
A
Harada
Koichi
K
Ueda
Atsushi
A