Met and Unmet Needs for Assistance and Quality of Life for People with Severe and Persistent Mental Disorders

People with severe mental illnesses often require help not only with managing their illness, but with a broad array of social and domestic activities. The impacts of the presence of such needs in several domains of function on quality of life ratings in the same domains are assessed using data from a survey of Maryland Medicaid recipients who have severe and persistent mental disorders. Measures included self-report of need and whether help was received for it, and Lehman's Quality of Life Interview. The presence of need was associated with lower quality of life ratings, and met needs improved those ratings relative to unmet need. A current diagnosis of depression resulted in lower quality of life, but successful treatment raised scores significantly. These findings underscore the potential impact the mental health service system can have on the quality of the lives of people it serves.