2015 Volume 35 Issue 4 Pages 344-355
This study investigated participation, environmental factors and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of people with aphasia. The subjects were 66 persons who had aphasia concomitant with cerebral injury one year or more before (aphasia group) and 51 persons without anamnesis of cerebral injury (general population group) . In this study, the Japanese version of the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) , Japanese version 2 of the Craig Hospital Inventory of Environmental Factors (CHIEF) , the Japanese version of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39) and other related rating scales were used. Regarding the CIQ, the total score, Home Integration score and Social Integration score were significantly lower in the aphasia group. Concerning the CHIEF, the total score, Physical/Structural score and Services/Assistance score were significantly higher in the aphasia group. Although a significant positive correlation between the CIQ total score and the CHIEF total score was found in the aphasia group, no significant correlation was found in the general population group. These observations suggest that participation correlates with barriers in people with aphasia, and a person with aphasia engaging in a higher degree of participation tends to feel barriers from aphasia. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used. The participation model included the variable of physical independence. The barriers model included the variable of participation. The HRQOL model included the variable of language functioning. Significant correlations were found between the CIQ total score and the Barthel Index, the CIQ total score and the modified Rankin Scale, the CHIEF total score and the CIQ total score, and the SAQOL-39 total score and the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination Aphasia Severity Rating Scale. These results suggest that physical independence affects participation, participation affects barriers, and language functioning affects HRQOL in people with aphasia.
