Quality of Life: From Concept to Future Applications in the Field of Intellectual Disabilities

The authors consider conclusions reached with respect to quality of life (QoL); these are examined in terms of both the past and present developments and within the context of three major areas. These three are (1) application of QoL through support and intervention; (2) the application to family QoL and the development of a working model; and (3) application of QoL for policy and evaluation. These conclusions are examined in relation to implications for public policy in terms of support and intervention, measurement and evaluation, with particular focus on a greater understanding and acceptance of the implications and structure involved in the QoL model and the importance of family QoL. The authors maintain that this should entail the development of applications that are empirically based and, wherever possible, take into account the complexity of mediator variables.