EVALUATION OF LIFE QUALITY: A STUDY WITH PHYSICALLY DISABLED PERSONS WHO ARE WHEELCHAIR HANDBALL PLAYERS

Abstract

In an attempt to understand and verify the regular practical contribution of physical activity in physically disabled persons’ quality of life, studies about quality of life in diverse chronic conditions have been done with the main goal of promoting interventions that aim its improvement. The scope of this study was to evaluate physically disabled persons’ qualities of life who are wheelchair handball players in Três Pontas city in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Eight male individuals participated in this study, ages between 16 and 22 years old, physically disabled people with wheelchair dependency who practiced the sport wheelchair handball (HCR). The tool used in the research was the questionnaire SF-36, which is a generic instrument that evaluates quality of life. As a result, it was found that physical disabled people, dependent on wheelchairs and who practiced the sport of wheelchair handball could acquire significant benefits through the sport practicum to queries of social aspects, vitality, general state of health and mental health. However, considering all the individuals of the sample in the same level of physical limitation because of the dependency on wheelchairs, in the limitation query by physical aspects there was inconsistence on the results, what corroborates other studies that strength the quality of life as a subjective perception of the individual.