Evaluation of the quality of life and affecting factors in the elderly living in nursing homes

Abstract

Objective: To determine socio-demographic features and the quality of life and associated factors in the elderly living in nursing homes.

Methods: The study sample consisted of all the elderly living in a nursing home in the centre of Kahramanmarafl. Ninety-three elderly people were living in the nursing home. Ninety-one elderly people completed a questionnaire composed of questions about demographic features. Forty-two elderly people with sufficient cognitive functions filled in the short form of SF-36 which had been adapted to Turkish culture before to determine the quality of life. Scores to be obtained from SF-36 range from 0 to 100. High scores indicate an improved quality of life.

Results: Out of all the elderly people included in the study, 65.9% were male and 34.1% were female. The mean age of the participants was 75.8±8.1 years and the mean duration of residence in the institution was 3.1±2.5 years. Seventeen point six percent of the elderly people were smokers, 14.3% were using Maras powder and 31.9% were nicotine addicts. Eighty point two percent of the elderly people had at least one chronic disease. The mean scores obtained by the participants were 42.25±13.04 for physical health and 42.25±13.04 for mental health in SF-36. In addition, the lowest score obtained from the subscales of SF-36 was 41.77 ± 9.83 for general health and the highest score was 50.36±9.82 for vitality.

Conclusions: It can be concluded that the elderly living in the nursing home had a very low quality of life. Further studies on the quality of life of elderly people living in nursing homes and factors affecting the quality of their life will shed light on and accelerate interventions likely to be performed to improve the quality of their life.