A Life of Quality: Informing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities

Abstract

Quality of life is a multidimensional construct requiring self-determination and advocacy skills, employment, and recognition of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms for improvements to be made. In this study, the constructs of quality of life and self-determination were applied to the rights-based framework guaranteed by the recent United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (UNCRPD) to inform monitoring and implementation efforts. Persons with disabilities interested in advocacy from Nepal, Zambia, and the United States were surveyed. Significant country differences were found in ratings of quality of life, self-determination, and personal human rights, but similar low ratings in country support of human rights were found. Through the coordinated improvement of significant factors, this study supports quality of life as a useful measure for informing UNCRPD. Future research should focus on the applicability of quality of life to monitoring UNCRPD and policy and program development.