Quality of life indicators of the Social Policy Office users of Municipality of Glyfada. Quantitative outcomes of a pilot case study

Abstract

A pilot study has been conducted in order to examine quality of life (QoL) indicators of social service users at Municipality of Glyfada. The study aimed: a) to provide a comprehensive account of service users’ QoL, b) to examine interrelations between subjective QoL indices and how these interrelate with global well-being, c) to explore the life domains mostly affected by economic crisis as well as, life domains which affect positively the QoL of participants and d) to examine the way service users assess their needs, and the kind of services they would like to receive in order to improve their QoL. The study sample consisted of 100 service users who participated in a structured interview based on the LQoL Profile. Results indicated that a) the majority of social service users were unemployed middle aged men and women, with annual income up to 6000 euro. 63% of the sample was single parent families headed by women with primary school children. Positive QoL indicators were, a) stable accommodation (very low rate of homelessness in the area), b) a high sense of security that participants feel in their neighborhood, and c) the frequent contact with family and friends. According to participants’ views, local social services should employ a holistic approach which includes, empowerment counseling, as well as adequate networking with community resources