IntroductionAccording to the offi cial forecasts the population of people aged 65 and over in the European Union will increase from 87.5 million in 2010 to 152.6 million in 2060. There are also predictions of the number of persons aged 80 and above growing from 23.7 million in 2010 to 62.4 million in 2060 [1]. Designing and implementing measures aimed at improving the quality of such extended life is one of the challenges facing medicine today.Quality of life (QoL) is a multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary term. Various sciences make attempts to conceptualise this term -above all medicine and psychology, but also sociology, pedagogy and economics. Hence the multitude and variety of defi nitions highlighting different aspects of human functioning and their importance in the process of formulating a subjective assessment of one's own life. Assessment of the QoL of the elderly is very diffi cult because the elderly are not a homogenous social group [2], and old ABSTRACT Introduction. Due to the prolonged average life span and constantly increasing number of the elderly, research of this population's quality of life (QoL) is being conducted to assess the spheres requiring improvement. Aim. To assess and compare the life quality in different domains between residents of nursing homes (NH) and patients of the Psychogeriatric Day Ward (PDW). Material and Methods. The study encompassed 68 PDW patients and 62 NH residents. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and a structured interview concerning diseases, different forms of support and activities preferred were used. Results. Women predominated among the subjects (83%). The elderly aged 75-90 constituted the majority (64.62%). The average assessment of QoL in the whole group amounted to 3.6 points. No signifi cant differences in the assessment of QoL satisfaction and one's own health satisfaction were observed between PDW patients and NH residents. The participants of both groups assessed the highest QoL in the environment domain and the lowest in the social relationships domain. A relationship between higher QoL in the physical health domain and participation in social forms of spending free time was observed. Relationships between QoL in particular domains and age, marital status and length of stay in NH were found. Conclusions. Elderly people's QoL, similarly to their satisfaction with health, were on an average level regardless of the institutional care. The QoL remains in a signifi cant relationship with health. The changing needs of the elderly should be the basis for creating an individual plan of professional support.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.