ABSTRACT
Objective To learn the quality of life (QOL) and mental health status of the physically disabled people in Zhejiang Province,in order to provide evidence for improving the quality of life and mental health of the physically disabled people.Methods Using questionnaires and interviews to make household surveys of 950 physically disabled people.The questionnaire included the brief quality of life scale (SF-36) and the general health questionnaire (GHQ-28) in the anxiety and depression scale,physical and mental health status.The basic information and other living conditions of physically disabled people were collected through interviews.Results A total of 907 valid questionnaires were recovered,and the effective response rate was 95.47％.Scores of QOL of 907 physically disabled people was 60.89,and anxiety and depression scores were more than 4 points and there was a high score on anxious and depression.The scores of quality of life,anxiety and depression were not statistically significant between males and females(P ＞0.05).There were significant differences in all dimensions of SF-36 and anxiety and depression in different levels of physically disabled people(P ＜ 0.01).There was a significant negative correlation between the quality of life and anxiety and depression in physically disabled people(rs =-0.626、-0.639,P ＜ 0.01).The multiple linear regression showed that physiological function,role physical,physical pain and general health were the influencing factors of anxiety of the physically disabled people,and role physical,physical pain and general health were the influencing factors of depression of the physically disabled people.Condusion The quality of life of physically disabled people were comparably poor,and presented anxiety,depression and other psychological problems.Physical function status directly affects the quality of life and mental health status.
ABSTRACT
Many people have been killed or physically disabled during twenty-year internal conflict in Cambodia. People still get injured due to remained land mines and unexplosive ordnances, even a decade after the cease-fire. This paper aims to examine the situation of the physically disabled and assistance programs in Cambodia by analyzing published documents and visiting activity sites, and to discuss future challenges. In this paper, the physically disabled mainly implies adults and children with orthopedic impairments.<br>The major causes of physical disability are: land mines; unexplosive ordnances; traffic accidents; occupational accidents such as falling down from palm trees; infectious diseases, etc. Casualties of land mines and unexplosive ordnances were 50,915 (13,686 were dead) between 1979 and 2000. Recently, the number of land mine accidents has been declining, while that of traffic accidents has been increasing. <br>Since 1980s, many international NGOs have assisted land mine victims through providing with artificial limbs, prostheses and rehabilitation services. However, the assistance for the disabled people of other categories has been neglected. The international NGOs provide services based on their own interests, therefore, the participation of the disabled people and their family in the assistance programs has been limited. The government plays only limited roles to endorse the activities of the international NGOs, and has not had any specific strategies to prepare for the future withdrawal of the NGOs.<br>Disabled people require assistance not only for health, but also for education, employment, etc. On the other hand, it is also very important to empower and build capacity of them, so that they can contribute to the development of the Cambodian society. Additionally, means of prevention should be considered as one of the key perspectives. Sustainable supporting systems should be established by the government and domestic NGOs through participation of the disabled themselves.