Evaluating quality of life in adults with profound learning difficulties resettled from hospital to supported living in the community.

This article describes a longitudinal evaluation of the quality of life of service users with profound learning difficulties who were resettled from hospital accommodation to supported housing in the community. The Trident approach was used for the design of the evaluation with data gathered regarding outcomes, process and stakeholder perspectives. Using a specially designed tool, quality of life was measured in seven domains for 39 service users in the hospital as a base line and at six months, twelve months and eighteen months in supported housing. A statistically significant improvement in quality of life overall and in each of the seven domains was found. Questionnaire surveys of parents/next of kin and support staff confirmed these findings as did a number of qualitative case studies.