Background: The status of farmers and ranchers with disabilities has been understudied. Understanding this population’s quality
of life (QOL) and independent living and working (ILW) levels have the potential to be informative for changes in public policy and
service provision.
Objective: To assess QOL levels among farmers and ranchers with disabilities as well as explore a conceptual model of ILWaccounting
for variance in QOL levels.
Methods: Participants (N 5 398) included farmers and ranchers with varying disabilities. Descriptive information was gathered using
the McGill Quality of Life (MQOL) and ILW measures. The MQOL measure produces an objective and comprehensive profile of one’s
QOL across several domains. ILW was used to account for variance in QOL scores. We also examined whether there were any differences
in QOL and or ILW based on type of disability.
Results: There were no differences in type of disability and QOL levels. The mean QOL level was 5.50 (SD 5 1.67; N 5 398). The
sample rated support and existential well-being the highest among the QOL subscales, which confounds previous research. Further, age
group and ILW accounted for 16.2% of the variance in QOL levels, P ! .001.
Conclusions: With this sample of farmers and ranchers with disabilities, age group and ILWaccount for significant variance in QOL.
Health professionals can use these findings to support and assess improvements in clients’ ILW, self-determination, and QOL. Future
research is needed to explore further the effects of QOL and ILW in this population. 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.