Quality of life of people with disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina – is there a moderating effect of the health status?

ABSTRACT

Quality of life (QOL) is one of the most researched topics in the field of disability in the last 30 years. However, there are few studies that examined the QOL in relation to the type of disability and self-reported health status. The goal of the present study was to examine the QOL in people with disabilities in relation to the type of disability and self-reported health status. The sample for this study consisted of 286 people with disabilities who were interviewed using the Personal Outcomes Scale as a measure of QOL. The results of this study revealed statistically significant differences in the self-reported QOL between people with different types of disabilities. The results also revealed a moderating effect that self-reported health status had on QOL across disability categories. There were no interaction effects of self-reported health status and disability category on the QOL. Generally, people with intellectual disability reported lower QOL than people in other disability categories. Self-reported health status had a significant impact on the QOL across the disability groups. Non-governmental organizations can, through their policies and practices, enhance the person-referenced QOL outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• Quality of life
• health status
• people with disabilities
• Bosnia and Herzegovina

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank all people with disabilities, their families, individuals, associations, public institutions, NGO who gave their contribution in the realization of this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Haris Memisevic is an assistant professor of special education and rehabilitation at the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University of Sarajevo. He currently serves as the head of Department for education and rehabilitation at the Faculty. His research interests are in the field of developmental disabilities, early intervention, and executive functions of children with disabilities.

Selmir Hadzic is a speech and language therapist working at the Center for education and rehabilitation of children with intellectual disability. He is also the president of the association of special education teachers, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists in Canton Sarajevo. His areas of interest include work with children and adults with various speech disorders.

Inga Ibralic Biscevic is a teaching assistant at the Herzegovina University. She is involved in creating new curricula for students with special educational needs in Canton Sarajevo. Her research interests are in the field of inclusive education, curriculum development and vocational rehabilitation.

Edin Mujkanovic is an assistant professor at the Herzegovina University. He teaches subjects related to the education and rehabilitation of people with hearing impairments. His areas of interest include sign language, curriculum development for students with hearing impairment and inclusive education.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the USAID grant to Union Sumero [FOG# AID-F-13-0001] but the funding organization did not have any role in the preparation of this manuscript, nor do the attitudes expressed in it necessarily reflect those of the USAID.