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Objectives: Quality of life for disabled children often has been assessed based on functional status or parental perceptions rather than direct reports from the children. The objective of this study was evaluating the quality of life of mothers with disabled children.

Methods: There is widespread acceptance of the need for disabled children to be fully integrated into society but there needs to be further attitudinal change. Totally forty mothers with a cerebral palsy child and forty mothers with health problems participated in a study. Health Survey was used to assess a mother’s quality of life.

Results: The mean scores on Health Survey were significantly lower in mothers of children with disabled child than those of the other group. The quality of life scores also was correlated with the severity of disability. Coping strategies were clear correlates of health related quality of life when socio-demographic, disability related and social support variables were studied. The relationship between coping strategies and quality of life was the more revaluation of life values.

Discussion: The results suggest that greater focus needs to be directed to coping strategies and to ways of facilitating adaptive outcomes in rehabilitation. Different coping strategies and psychosocial programmes must be designed and implemented to decrease the burden of care.

Objectives: Within the context of Health-Related Quality of Life studies, it was necessary to translate and evaluate the psychometric properties of the SF-12 Health Survey version 2. The aim of this study was to investigate the factorial structure, convergent validity and reliability of this instrument in a healthy Iranian sample, following translation and establishment of content and face validity.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study the translated instrument was administered together with the Sense of Coherence Scale and Health Index in a convenience sample of healthy people (n=289) aged 18 to 76 years old between June and September 2006. A test-retest was conducted one month later.

Results: Content Validity Index for Scale (85.6%) and face validity of the instrument were acceptable. The results of Exploratory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling by four models verified the existing two-factor structure, a physical and a mental component summary. All models exceeded the goodness of fit indices and showed a resemblance with the original instrument, except for models 3 and 4 (allowing cross-loadings). Although in these two models the General Health item and scale was loaded to the mental component rather than the physical component, construct validity of the instrument was confirmed. Also, physical and mental component summaries were significantly (P<0.001) correlated to the Sense of Coherence Scale (r=0.27, r=0.68) and Health Index (r=0.49, r=0.67). Cronbach’s alpha values and the intra-class correlation coefficients were ≥0.70 and ≥0.60, respectively.

Discussion: The Iranian SF-12 Health Survey version 2 was a psychometrically sound instrument, implying that it is suitable for use with large-scale surveys in Iranian population, both in clinical and rehabilitation settings or at a public level.

Objectives: Alzheimer’s disease causes many negative effects on the individual's physical, psychological and cognitive conditions. The multi sensory stimulation helps the patients to improve their physical, psychological and cognitive conditions. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of multi sensory stimulation on cognitive status and quality of life of the patients with Alzheimer’s disease which was resident in Nasimshahr elders' center.

Methods: In this quasi-experimental research plan samples were divided into experimental and control groups and both of them were tested thrice: before, during and after the intervention. 90 Alzheimer's disease patients were recruited by available sampling technique and with random allocation method the groups were set. Data were collected by demographic questionnaire geriatric quality of life questionnaire and mini mental status examination (MMSE).The rehabilitation program consisted of 20 session education program and multi sensory stimulation program. The experimental group took part in standardized 45-60 minutes multi sensory stimulation sessions and they received the MMSE and quality of life questionnaires in 10th and 20th sessions and were asked to fill them in. the control group didn't receive any intervention.

Results: The results indicates that the multi sensory stimulation in experimental group improved their quality of life in all dimensions were including physical-activity (P=0.001), self care (P=0.001), depression and anxiety levels (P=0.001), social function (P=0.001), sexual function (P=0.001), life satisfaction (P=0.001), intellectual-function (P=0.058) and overall (P=0.001). But in the cognitive status domain no improvement has been observed (P=0.596).

Discussion: The multi sensory stimulation can be an effective method to improve the general Condition or the signs and symptoms stabilization of Alzheimer's dementia patients. The results of this study show that multi sensory stimulation improves the patients' quality of life and the patients will experience a better life after the intervention.

Objectives: Improvement in cancer care increases life expectancy of patients with cancer, most of whom have experienced prolonged episodes of fatigue during and after their treatment. This has been found to reduce the quality of life and increase morbidity and mortality of such patients. Therefore, additional interventions are beneficial to improve overall quality of life as well as longevity. There is growing evidence that exercise is beneficial for oncology patients though improvements in their physical, physiological abilities and functions. The purpose of the present article is to evaluate the current evidence to determine if exercise could be used as a safe and effective medicine to reduce fatigue and improve quality of life in these patients.

Methods: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL search engines were electronically searched and 21 empirical studies, published between 1995 and 2009, were located.

Results: There is accumulative data in the literature supporting the effectiveness of exercise interventions on the physical and psychological wellbeing of patients with cancer. Exercise can improve muscle mass and strength and whole body oxygen uptake which are reduced during bed rest, infection and cancer treatments.

Discussion: Growing evidence is now supporting the effectiveness of exercise on specific populations such as women suffering from breast cancer. However, the effect of exercise on other populations such as children and patients suffering from other types of cancers is vague. Therefore, more research is needed to define scientific evidence based rehabilitation protocols for oncology patients with different types of cancer.

Objectives: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system that results in many symptoms including mobility limitation, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and redacted quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of 8-weeks aerobic and yoga training on depression, anxiety and quality of life in individuals with MS.

Methods: 31 women with MS (mean of age of 34.15years) with Expanded Disability Status Scale scores 1.0 to 4.0, were randomly assigned to one of three groups lasting 8 weeks: treadmill training, yoga or a waiting-list control group. Treadmill training consisted of 8 weeks (24 sessions) of treadmill training (30 minutes), at 40-75% of age-predicted maximum heart rate. Yoga group subjects participated in a thrice weekly 60-70 minute sessions of Hatha yoga intervention for 8 weeks. The control group followed their own routine treatment program. Depression, anxiety and quality of life were measured by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 questionnaire (MSQOL-54) respectively. Data were analyzed by MANOVA, Tukey and paired t-tests.

Results: Results indicated that intervention has improved significantly BDI score, BAI score and some MSQOL-54 scale scores in the treadmill training group and yoga group. There were significant differences between treadmill training group and yoga group in BAI score and MSQOL-54 scale scores.

Discussion: These results suggest that treadmill training and yoga practice improved depression, anxiety and quality of life in people with mild to moderate MS.

Objectives:  This  study  aimed  to  examine  the  effectiveness  of  life  skills  training  on  quality  of  life  in mothers of children with Down syndrome. 

Methods:  This  research  was  done  as  a  semi-experimental  with  pre-post  test  and  with  control  group. Statistical population included all children with down syndrome, age from 2 months to 8 years, and their mothers who referred to Iran's down syndrome society. Thirty six children were randomly chosen and equally assigned to two groups: experimental and control group. The data were collected by using the demographic  questionnaire  and  the  short  form  of  the  World  Health  Organization  Quality  of  Life. Experimental group was trained for life skills in 12 sessions, each session 60 minutes. Data were analyzed using SPSS-16 software and multivariate analysis of covariance test.  

Results:  The  results  indicate  that  the  mean  score  of  quality  of  life  in  the  experimental  group  was significantly higher than the control group after intervention. 

Discussion: According to the results, life skills training increased the quality of life in mothers of children with  Down  syndrome. Therefore  the  life  skill  training  can  be  applied  in  mental  health  services  for improving the quality of life in mothers of children with Down syndrome.  

Objectives: Quality of life, when referring to an individual’s health, is called health-related quality of life. The purpose of this study is to assess self-perceived hearing loss related quality of life of adolescents with hearing loss and its relationship with sex, age sub-groups or school settings with domains of quality of life.

Methods: A school based survey was conducted in Tehran city. Using stratified sampling, 255 7^th to 12th grade students with hearing loss, aged 11-19 years, studying in main streaming and special school sitting, were participated in the study by completing the health-related quality of life adolescent’s questionnaire. Physical, Emotional and Social health-related quality of life domain scores as well as Total health-related quality of life scores was calculated in a 0-100 scoring system.

Results: As a whole, health-related quality of life of adolescents calculated to be 64.7±16.5. Students with milder hearing loss reported their quality of life (physical, emotional and social domains, as well as total quality of life) better than those with more severe hearing loss. Girls reported their physical and total health-related quality of life better than boys, and adolescents who were studied in mainstreaming reported better physical, social and total health-related quality of life. No significant differences were seen between reported health-related quality of life in early, mid or late adolescent age sub-groups. Nevertheless the power of tests was not enough to exclude differences between groups.

Discussion: Findings of this study could be readily used to focus interventions on domains with more weakness in each group of adolescents. Beyond that the results could be helpful as a base line for detecting effectiveness of interventions in future.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of psycho-rehabilitation (Dohsa-hou) on improving the quality of life of 4-12 year old children with cerebral palsy.

Methods: The present research is a semi-experimental study with a pre-test - post-test design, follow-up and control group. The statistical population fully consists of children with cerebral palsy in Yazd. 30 male patients were selected using a convenience sampling method and were divided into the experiment and control groups. Before beginning treatment, parents filled out the quality of life questionnaire and at the end of the treatment period in the post-test and follow-up phase the same assessment was done. The treatment period in the experiment group was 12 sessions (three sessions per week) and the follow-up phase was done 50 days after the test.

Results: The results obtained from the analysis of covariance showed that psychological rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy improves their quality of life and that this difference was persistent in the follow-up phase (P<0.001).

Discussion: Since the rate of cerebral palsy is rising and the symptoms are wide, patients may have an increased need for rehabilitation in the future. Dohsa-hou as a psychological rehabilitation approach is an effective treatment to improve the quality of life of these patients

Objectives: Most definitions equate Quality of Life with motor function. The aim of this study is to examine the association between gross motor function and Quality of Life for children with cerebral palsy.

Methods: In this analytical cross–sectional study, 60 children with cerebral palsy aged 4-12 were selected through convenience sampling based on inclusion criteria from occupational therapy clinics in Hamadan. Cerebral Palsy-Quality of Life questionnaires were completed by the parents of the participants, and the gross motor function of all children was evaluated by the Gross Motor Function Measure. All data was analyzed by SPSS 16.

Results: The analysis of the data showed statistical significance between gross motor function and Quality of Life domains such as [social well-being and acceptance (P=0.017), feeling about functioning (P=0.003), participation and physical health (P=0.003), pain and feelings about disability (P=0.018), access to services (P=0.009)], while there wasn’t any relationship seen between them in emotional well-being (P=0.54) and family health (P=0.796).

Discussion: Based on the findings of this research, there isn’t any relationship between gross motor function and the psychosocial domains of Quality of Life. It means that children with cerebral palsy have the potential to have a high psychosocial Quality of Life score even if they have poor motor function.

Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between religious coping and quality of life of mothers of children with hearing deficiency. 

Methods: In this study, 55 mothers of children with hearing deficiency referred to Isfahan Cochlear Implant Center, from June to August 2012, were selected through applying census method. The participants answered the questionnaires of Religious Coping and Quality of Life (FS36).

Results: Results of correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant negative relationship between negative emotions toward God and the mental dimension of quality of life. Moreover, there was a significant positive relationship between benevolent appraisal and the physical dimension of quality of life. Regression analysis showed that negative emotions could explain 7.2% of variations in the mental dimension of respondents’ quality of life.

Discussion: The increase in negative religious coping behaviors (e.g. negative emotions toward God) was associated with reduction of quality of life of mothers of children with hearing deficiency.

Objectives: Stroke is one of the most common neurological disease and it is the main cause of physical and mental disability and staying in house. Gait difficulties have high incidence in patients with stroke. So the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of gait retraining on balance, activities of daily living, quality of life and depressionin stroke patients.

Methods: This study was a clinical trial without control group. Sampling was performed by convenience sampling method and 18 patients participated. After recording demographic data, Berg Balance Scale, Barthel Index, SF36 questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory-II used in pre-test and post-test to assess balance, activities of daily living, quality of life and depression, respectively .Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and paired T-test.

Results: The results showed statistically significant correlation in pre-test and difference between mean score of the all instruments before and after the intervention.

Discussion: According to high prevalence of gait difficulties in stroke patients, it seems interventions in this area is necessary. Statistical results showed that the gait retraining intervention may have a positive effect on improving balance, activities of daily living, quality of life and depression of these patients. According to lack of information in this area, further research is needed.

Encouraging an active lifestyle is an essential part of successful rehabilitation programs, and the link between physical activity and quality of life (QOL) is well established among patients with mobility disorders. Biomechanical aspects of wheelchair design play an important role in physical activity and social participation of disabled individuals. This review focuses on key biomechanical features of wheeled mobility devices including propulsion methods, overuse injuries, assistive technologies, prevention of pressure ulcers, and tire and frame design. We briefly review the role of design modifications in increasing the physical activity and improvement of QOL among wheelchair-bound adults. 

Objectives: The present research has been carried out to investigate the effectiveness of group mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on modification of body image and quality of life in women with breast cancer undergoing mastectomy. 
Materials: This research is a quasi-experimental study (pretest-posttest with control). In this clinical trial, 50 voluntary patients who had undergone mastectomy in 2013 and 2014 were screened among the patients admitted to Omid Hospital and Reza Treatment Center in Mashhad and were randomly divided into experimental group (n=25) and control group (n=25). First, both groups were pretested. Then, the experimental group received group mindfulness-based cognitive therapy treatments during eight sessions of 120 minutes (one session per week), but the control group received no treatment. At the end of treatment, both groups received the post-test. Data collection tools included standard questionnaires EROTIC QLQ-Br 23.V.3 and the quality of life questionnaire (SF-36). The data were analyzed based on covariance analysis using SPSS software (Version 20).
Results: Comparison of the mean scores of quality of life and body image showed a significant difference between the control and experimental groups after receiving the treatment (P<0.01). In other words, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy was effective on the quality of life and modification of body image in patients. 
Discussion: Group mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can be considered as an effective and efficient approach to the quality of life and modification of body image in women with breast cancer who have undergone mastectomy.

Objectives: To assess the relationship between visual rehabilitation with the quality of life and visual status in children who had been diagnosed with amblyopia in the national amblyopia screening program.
Methods: Information was gathered from optometric centers in the cities of Nowshahr, Chalus, and Kelardasht, or in case it was not available, from parents of participating children. The KINDL Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire for Children was also completed by the children. Children were examined regarding visual acuity, stereopsis, strabismus, and refractive errors. Statistical tests such as one way ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient were used via SPSS software version 22.
Results: Overall, the researchers obtained the records of 90 children with amblyopia, of which 76 were included in the study based on the inclusion criteria. The amblyopic children who did not have an early and timely start of treatment aid and did not complete treatment were the most prevalent group (38.2%). The lowest frequency (13.2%) pertained to those who did not have a timely start of treatment but experienced a completed treatment process. The highest proportion of children with entirely uncorrected amblyopia was those who had a timely start of treatment but did not complete the treatment. The majority of amblyopic children who had a completely corrected amblyopia had strictly acted in accordance with their therapist’s prescription. In contrast, the majority of those children whose amblyopia was left completely untreated had not acted in accordance with the therapist’s prescription. The children who had started treatment early but had not completed it obtained the lowest score on quality of life. The highest mean score was observed in the children who had completed their treatment process, either with or without an early start of the treatment.
Discussion: The completion of treatment seemed to be of higher importance in the correction of amblyopia and increased the quality of life than the early start of treatment. Therefore, the authorities and therapists are recommended to pay more attention to follow-ups for completion of the treatment process and its important impact on improving eyesight and children’s quality of life.

Objectives: Today quality of life is considered as a comprehensive health issue. The paper aims to study the quality of life of the elderly residing in Zahedan, Iran, in 2016. The study is regarding the increasing number of elderly people and the effect of socio-environmental factors on their health. 
Methods: It was a descriptive and correlational study. The sample included 117 elderly people residing in Zahedan city who were recruited by population-based cluster random sampling. Data was collected by Quality of Life questionnaire (SF-36) and analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient, ANOVA, and t-test using SPSS software, version 19.
Results: The mean score of quality of life was 58.2±6.25. Quality of life of women was significantly lower than that of men (P=0.04). Quality of life scores were associated with marital status; so widowed individuals gained less score than married or single individuals (P=0.048), but the quality of life showed no significant relationship with other demographic variables such as age and educational level (P>0.05).
Discussion: In the study conducted it was found that the quality of life among the elderly was moderate and that the status of social performance was better than their physical health. It was also found that there was no significant relationship between educational level and quality of life. It was found that the quality of life was low, especially in elderly women; hence more attention needs to be paid to them.

Objectives: To date, there is no specific scale to assess the quality of life in Bipolar Disorder (BD). The Quality of Life in Bipolar Disorder (QoL.BD) is the first questionnaire designed for this purpose. In this study, we aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Persian Brief Quality of Life in Bipolar Disorder (Brief QoL.BD).
Methods: After forward and backward translation of the questionnaire and comparing the two translations, the Persian version of the questionnaire was prepared to be tested. The statistical population comprised all patients and normal individuals in Tehran . The sample population included 118 patients with BD and 132 healthy individuals without the history of mental disorder; they were selected using a convenience sampling method. The study instruments included the Beck Depression Inventory-II, Bech–Rafaelsen Mania Rating Scale, the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the Brief QoL.BD. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Lisrel statistical programs.
Results: The confirmatory factor analysis indices indicated a relatively good model fit. Content validity estimates were also acceptable. Convergent validity was examined by calculating the correlation between the scores on the Brief QoL.BD and those on the SF-36 questionnaire; the results were found to be significant (r=0.36, P<0.01). Discriminant validity was assessed by comparing the Brief QoL.BD total scores between the groups of patients with BD and healthy individuals; the results indicated a significant difference between the two groups (t=65.09, P<0.01). The Cronbach’s alpha of 0.70 indicated an internal consistency. A test–retest reliability estimate of 0.89 indicated a high reliability of the scale.
Discussion: The Brief QoL.BD has high validity and reliability in assessing the QoL of patients with BD in Iran.

Objectives: Choice theory is rooted in psychological concepts like self-concept, successful identity, and quality of the world. This theory could be useful for people seeking for hope and a better life. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of group training of choice theory on life quality and hope in blind people. 
Methods: The statistical population of this research includes all the blind members of the Asaye Sefid Charity of Tehran in 2015. The research sample included 30 blind people from the Asaye Sefid Charity, selected via simple random sampling. The data in this study have been collected using the Life Quality questionnaire of the World Health Organization (the brief 26-question form) and the Snyder Hope  questionnaire. Data analysis was performed by covariance analysis.
Results: The results indicate that the training of choice theory concepts affected the quality of life (F=22.5, P<0.001) and on hope (F=35.17, P<0.001). Therefore, it seems that the training of choice theory concepts could improve the quality of life and hope for blind people. 
Discussion: The choice theory concepts have positive effects on people with visual impairments. In addition, the findings of this research suggest that mental health professionals can use this psychological intervention for improving the life satisfaction and hope in those blind people.