Subjective quality of life in severely disabled long-stay schizophrenic patients - Part 3 of the hessian deinstitutionalization study

In the controversy about severely chronic mental patients, who still reside in the psychiatric hospital after decades of deinstitutionalization, their quality of life (QoL) has become a main topic. On the basis of a critique of the dominant, mere standardized approach to QoL this method is compared with a qualitative approach in such a schizophrenic ,,residual" patient group (n = 144). While in the standardized approach a high level of subjective QoL could be found that correlated positively with the duration of hospitalisation, the open interviews yielded specific experiences of deficiencies. The appraisal of the quality of life especially of chronic or hospitalized patients is reconsidered.