Quality of life and levels of physical activity of residents living in therapeutic residential care facilities in Southern Brazil.

Interest in the quality of life of people with mental disorders living in therapeutic residential care facilities is an important indicator for the evaluation of therapeutic interventions in the area of health. Physical activity can contribute to a good quality of life. This study evaluated the quality of life and levels of physical activity of people living in therapeutic residential care facilities in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre. This case series study (n = 68) used SF-36, EuroQol and IPAQ and social-demographic questions. The SF-36 results showed that the domain of general health received the lowest scores (57.47 ± 14.27). The highest scores were in terms of social aspects (77.39 ± 20.21) and physical aspects (77.57 ± 39.71). When using EuroQol, at least one problem (mild or extreme) in at least one dimension was evident among 82% of the residents. The physical activity levels showed that most of the participants were insufficiently active (48.5%) and 14.7% were sedentary. The domains of pain and mobility suggested that the residents were not being encouraged enough to perform physical activities. Knowledge about the perceptions of those living in therapeutic residential care facilities is critical in order to establish effective public policies.