Analyzing the Effects of Institutional Care on Improving Daily Living Abilities of Persons with Severe Disabilities and its policy implications

The purpose of this study is to examine how institutional care for persons with severe disabilities influence their ability to lead economically independent daily lives and to derive related policy implications. As an empirical approach, we conducted a basic analysis and paired-sample t-tests using longitudinal data collected from nine individuals with severe disabilities residing in Facility A in Gyeonggi-do. The analysis revealed that the average scores for most sub-items across domains and factors showed an increasing trend in the post-assessment compared to the pre-assessment. In particular, the paired t-test results indicated statistically significant improvements in areas related to economic and vocational activities and responsibilities—domains closely tied to economic independence. These findings highlight the meaningful role of institutional support in promoting self-reliance among individuals with severe disabilities. Based on the results, several policy implications are discussed.