Quality of life in adults with an intellectual disability: the Evaluation of Quality of Life Instrument.
The EQLI is a fast, staff-rated screen that reliably spots quality-of-life trouble in adults with intellectual disability.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lecavalier et al. (2006) built a short staff rating scale. It is called the Evaluation of Quality of Life Instrument, or EQLI.
Staff who know the adult fill it out. It takes about five minutes. The team tested if the scores stay steady and if they line up with other life-satisfaction numbers.
What they found
The scale held together. Items agreed with each other and with outside happiness ratings.
Staff can now flag adults who may feel unhappy in housing, work, friends, or daily fun.
How this fits with other research
Cashon et al. (2013) later made a 12-item satisfaction scale that also works. Both papers show staff can quickly chart QoL with paper and pencil.
Scior et al. (2023) moved past staff report. They built a 14-item wellbeing scale that adults answer by video call. The EQLI still wins when self-report is hard.
van Herwaarden et al. (2022) interviewed adults and found deeper themes like purpose and growth. Their six themes add flesh to the basic QoL bones the EQLI measures.
Why it matters
If you run a day or residential program, add the EQLI to quarterly reviews. One staff member who knows the person can complete it while the kettle boils. Circle any score of 3 or less and turn it into a support goal. Pair it with self-report tools when possible, but keep the EQLI for adults who use few words. You will catch hidden dissatisfaction early and show funders that you track quality, not just safety.
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Print the EQLI, fill it out with a direct-support staff for one adult, and set a goal for any item scored 3 or below.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: The construct of quality of life (QoL) has been the focus of a great deal of recent research and has been operationalized in the assessment of the effectiveness of biomedical and rehabilitative interventions. Consequently, the effective measurement of QoL has become a relevant issue. QoL assessment should take account of both objective life conditions and reported satisfaction with those conditions, and should recognize that QoL has multiple domains. There is also evidence to suggest that it is useful to supplement such assessments with the evaluations of significant others within a multidimensional assessment perspective. METHODS: The current study describes a further stage of testing and refinement of the Evaluation of Quality of Life Instrument (EQLI), which was designed to elicit from staff of health and social care services assessments of the level of satisfaction experienced by adults with an intellectual disability. Specifically, the EQLI's internal consistency, and construct, convergent and discriminant validity were analysed. RESULTS: The EQLI appears to be a psychometrically valid measure for collecting data on the levels of satisfaction which, according to health and social services staff, might be experienced by individuals with an intellectual disability who attend residential institutions and community-based day centres. The factor analyses supported a three-factor structure for the EQLI and reliability estimates of scores on the three factors were in the moderate to high range. The data collected supported convergent and discriminant validity. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the EQLI is an effective measure for gaining staff perceptions of individuals who may be at risk of dissatisfaction with various QoL domains. The EQLI is as an instrument which, within a multidimensional assessment, could contribute to the identification of areas of user dissatisfaction with services.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2006 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2006.00785.x