Measuring Quality: The Relationship between Diaries and Direct Observation of Staff

With a greater emphasis on service evaluation, value for money and higher standards, the measurement of quality of life is an increasingly important aspect of services for people with a learning disability. A number of authors have proposed models for conceptualising quality. In a recent review Felce and Perry (1995) portrayed quality as being represented by five domains: 1. Physical Well-being: this subsumes health, fitness and physical safety. 2. Material Well-being: this includes, finance or income, quality of the living environment and privacy, possessions, meals or food, transport, neighbourhood, security, and stability or tenure. 3. Social Wellbeing: this comprises two major dimensions of a) the quality and breadth of interpersonal relationships and b) community activities and the level of community acceptance and support. 4. Development and Activity: is concerned with the possession and use of skills in relation both to self determination and the pursuit of functional activities such as work or leisure. 5. Emotional Well-being: including, affect or mood, satisfaction, self esteem and religious faith. The model is suggested as a framework for organising the measurement of the quality of life concept.