Spirituality and the quality of life of individuals with intellectual disability

Context: Spirituality seems to form part of person-centred care planning and needs assessment of persons with intellectual disability. Yet, the role of spiritually in relation to their quality of life (QoL) has scarcely been investigated. Objective: This paper reports on an exploration of the extent to which spiritual belief and practice was linked to individuals’ perception of quality of life in two types of care services – one a faith-based provider, the other a non-faith based service. Method: A mixed-methods approach utilising the Quality Of Life Questionnaire (QOLQ) and the a brief spiritual beliefs inventory for use in quality of life research (Systems of Belief Inventory -15R) was used to interview people with intellectual disabilities (or, if they lacked capacity, their formal carers) who lived in their respective service for a long time. Findings: Participants living in the faith-based care service recorded higher mean and median scores on the QOLQ compared to their colleagues who resided in the non-faith based care service. Further analysis indicated significant correlations between the spirituality measure and most of the QOLQ domains. Limitations: The study sample of 36 makes generalisations difficult and our initial intention to include a range of faith traditions were unsuccessful. Implications: Further academic studies exploring spiritual issues for people with intellectual disabilities are needed, as well as clearer policy and practice guidelines and a willingness on the part of services to support this aspect of life.