Quality of Life in People with Mental Illness in Non-residential Community Mental Health Services in Hong Kong

Objective: To identify the subjective quality of life in people with chronic mental health problems who were in non-residential community mental health services, and to investigate factors affecting their quality of life after the illness. Methods: People with mental illness (n = 105) were recruited. They were assessed with the self-rated Hong Kong Chinese version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief questionnaire. Results: The participants had lower total quality-of-life and the 4 domain scores of the questionnaire than the general population. They were particularly dissatisfied with their financial situation. Duration of illness was positively correlated with subjective quality-of-life variables while age at onset of the mental illness was negatively correlated with subjective quality of life, in particular the physical health, psychological health, and environmental domains. Conclusion: This study highlighted the significance of duration and age at onset of illness in subjective quality of life of people with mental illness. A longitudinal study to test the causal relationships between these factors and the quality of life in people with mental illness is recommended.