Quality of life for children with disabilities.

Studies on children with special needs mainly concentrate on disease-oriented health problems and neglect the positive aspects of quality of life. In this study the quality of life of children with Cystic Fibrosis and Myelomeningocele, 951 children in all, in the five Nordic countries is compared to that of a random sample of 10,290 children. The aim of the study was to see how the issue of equity, a main objective of the WHO health for all policy, has been met in the Nordic countries. Quality of life is defined as one of the essential resources of a population in terms of external, inter-personal and personal conditions. The study shows that children with disabilities have, and perceive that they live in good material and socio-economic conditions. However, the personal psychological conditions are less favourable, which indicates that this is a priority area for future health policies.