Exploring Quality of Life in Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: An Analysis of Research Studies Using National Core Indicators In-Person Survey (NCI-IPS) Data

This article presents a systematic analysis of peer-reviewed research from 2014 to 2023, focusing on the use of the National Core Indicators In-Person Survey (NCI-IPS) to explore outcomes and predictors for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the United States. The study demonstrated that health and employment outcomes are explored the most, with predictors mostly at the person-referenced level. The most common significant predictors of quality of life (QoL) outcomes include behavior/mental health, mobility, guardianship, and residence type. The study highlights the need for more exploration of family/community-related and systems-referenced predictors as well as for a targeted investigation of malleable predictors. These findings underscore the importance of NCI-IPS data for person-centered research on QoL outcomes and provide insights for future research directions. We suggest that other countries should consider the benefits of establishing a similar national IDD data system.