The project on the quality of life of the mentally disabled was set in motion by the research unit of the Finnish Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in 1989. The data were collected with the help of video observation and questionnaires aimed at their support persons, because interviews were not possible to conduct. The quality of life of the severely disabled was studied from several viewpoints. Their support persons, such as nurses or family members, assessed the housing, hobbies, social relationships, work and daily activities of the disabled person they worked with. Housing was examined by asking about chances to influence housing conditions as well as limitations set by others. The questions on work and daily activities included the content and meaningfulness of the activities, the disabled person's ability to perform certain tasks, and learning new skills. Other areas of life were investigated by asking about dining, managing one's own affairs, social relationships, and whether the target person had the power to decide on his/her clothing, for example. The background information was collected at the same time with the interviews of the mildly disabled. Background variables included the target person's year of birth, mother tongue, Special Services District, parents' education level and occupation, and the number of siblings. Relating to target person's disability, questions about mobility, oral expression, and living in institutions were asked. In addition to the background information on target persons, some background information on the support persons was collected as well. Because some of the support persons were health care professionals and others family members, the questions varied slightly according to the respondent. The common background variables included the respondent's gender and year of birth. The health care professionals were asked about their job title, work experience in the field, and how long they had known the target person. The family members were asked how they were related to the target person.

2007