Health-Related Quality of Life of Experts Who Worked in Air Disasters in São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the influence of identifying victims of air disasters in São Paulo on experts' quality of life (QoL). Methods: QoL was evaluated using the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization (WHO) quality of life questionnaire (WHOQOL-bref). We assessed 29 forensic experts who worked in air disasters in São Paulo and 29 experts who have not worked. The results were analyzed with Student's t-tests; we compared the QoL scores of individuals at the time of the accident with their current QoL scores, and the scores of the control group were compared with the current scores of the disaster group. Results: Statistical analyses revealed a significant decrease in forensic expert QoL when they worked at the accident site, and this result was evident in all WHOQOL-bref domains. No significant difference was observed between the experts' current QoL scores and those of the control group. Conclusions: The identification of air disaster victims in the city of São Paulo significantly decreased expert health-related QoL (HRQoL) with regard to physical and psychological aspects, social relationships and environment domains. This disturbance on the QoL was not persistent over the years.