Comparison of the results of life quality and geriatric depression scale results according to the environments of the elders

Abstract

Objective: One of the most important phenomena of the twentyfirst century is the increase in the quality of life of the population as well as the increasing number of elderly people in the society. In our study, we aimed to compare the quality of life and geriatric depression scale according to the different environments of the elderly.

Methods: A total of 169 individuals included in the study were divided into 3 groups as “those living in a nursing home”, “living alone or with spouses” and “those living with children or relatives at home”. “SF-36 Quality of Life Scale” and “Geriatric Depression Scale” were applied to all groups. The results were analyzed by SPSS ver:21 program.

Results: Of the participants, 50.9% were male and 49.1% were female. The mean age was 74.1 ± 7.3 years. When the mean scores of SF-36 Quality of Life Scale and Geriatric Depression Scale were evaluated according to the environments where they lived; The Physical Function Score of the group “living alone or with the spouse” was found significantly different from other groups. The Physical Content Summary Score was also higher than “those living alone or with spouses”, but this distinction was not statistically significant with other groups.

Conclusion: Although in Turkish family structure and culture, elderly people living in a nursing home is perceived as a negative situation; Living in institutions that attach importance to physical, mental and social activitiy of the elderly provides important contributions for themselves.