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Life Satisfaction in Persons with Late Effects of Polio

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Abstract

To assess satisfaction with life as a whole and with ten domains of life satisfaction in Swedish persons with late effects of polio, to describe the relationship with sex, age, marital status, use of mobility aids and self-perceived needs of instrumental support, and to compare the level of life satisfaction with a Swedish reference sample. A cross-sectional study of 160 persons with verified late effects of polio answered a postal questionnaire including the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LiSat-11). A majority were to some degree satisfied with life as a whole and with all the ten domains of life satisfaction. Satisfaction with life as whole was not related to any of the sociodemographic or disability related factors and these factors had few relations to the ten domains of life satisfaction. The respondents were significantly less satisfied with life as a whole and with vocation, leisure, sexual life, activities of daily living, and somatic and psychological health compared to the Swedish reference sample, but were significantly more satisfied with economy and contacts with friends. Men and women with late effects of polio, regardless of age, marital status or disability, can experience a reduced life satisfaction. This emphasises the need to identify potential gaps between these persons’ aspirations and achievements in life and carry out appropriate rehabilitation interventions to enhance their life satisfaction.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the persons who volunteered to participate. Maria Larsson Lund was supported by a personal grant from the Swedish council for working life and social research (FAS). The study was prepared within the context of the Centre of Ageing and Supportive Environments (CASE) at Lund University, funded by the Swedish Research Council on Social Science and Working Life, and had received financial support from the Swedish Association of Survivors of Traffic Accidents and Polio (RTP), Stiftelsen för bistånd åt rörelsehindrade i Skåne and Skane county council’s research and development foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Occupational Therapy, Umeå University, SE- 901 87, Umeå, Sweden

    Maria Larsson Lund

  2. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden

    Jan Lexell

  3. Division of Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Jan Lexell

  4. Department of Health Sciences, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden

    Jan Lexell

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  1. Maria Larsson Lund
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Correspondence to Maria Larsson Lund.

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Larsson Lund, M., Lexell, J. Life Satisfaction in Persons with Late Effects of Polio. Applied Research Quality Life 6, 71–80 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-010-9116-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-010-9116-4

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