Health-related quality of life among persons with physical disabilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Although research suggests that people with physical disabilities experience impacts to their health-related quality of life (HRQL), there are no previous reviews or meta-analyses of studies that use appropriate assessment instruments in this population. The objective of this project was to conduct a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of studies that use the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) to evaluate HRQL in people with physical disabilities. We searched the PsyclNFO, Medline, CINAHL and The Cochrane Library databases, identifying articles published through February 2020. The methodological quality of the studies was analyzed, and the pooled mean scores for each domain of the WHOQOL-BREF were calculated. Ten studies involving 2,048 people with physical disabilities were included. Their methodological quality was adequate. The pooled mean scores were 49.5 for the physical domain, 57.7 for the psychological domain, 58.2 for the social relations domain, and 55.5 for the environmental domain. The findings of this work confirm an impact of physical disabilities on the four HRQL domains in this population.