Quality of life and service utilisation of psychotic patients in South London - The PRiSM study

Quality of Life (QOL) measures are being used increasingly in the assessment of outcomes in community services for the mentally ill. Most evaluative studies have focused on specific elements of service which are thought to have an impact on patients' quality of life. This paper presents evaluations made by an epidemiologically representative group of psychotic patients in South London concerning their quality of life while receiving a comprehensive range of community care services. Results indicate differences in patients' evaluations of quality of life according to specific services used. Care must be taken in drawing conclusions concerning the relationship between quality of life and service use and a number of patient characteristics and measures of functioning are judged important for inclusion in these evaluations.