Abstract
Psychosocial Quality of Life among Elderly People and its relationship to Chronic Diseases
Author(s): Shahad Hussein khamis, Zahid Jasim MohammedBackground: Aging is a natural process which universally affects all the human beings in the society. Quality of life among the geriatric population is a global concern as it reflects the status of health and of wellbeing among the set population. This study aimed to assess the quality of life among elderly and its relationship to chronic diseases. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in a nursing home in Baghdad for the period from November 1st, 2022 to March 1st, 2023, on a sample of (139) elderly people. The questionnaire was validated by experts and then its reliability was verified through a pilot study. The total number of items included in the questionnaire was 26 items for quality of life assessment. Data were collected using interviews and analyzed by applying descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Results: The results indicate that the average age of the respondents was 72.15 (± 2.39) years, more than half of the participants were males (58.3%), the monthly income was less than 300 thousand Iraqi dinars (45.3%), one-third of the elderly were divorced (36.7%), and they graduated from school primary (28.8%), more than half of them have sons (59.7%), residents of the nursing home for more than 6 years and most have diabetes (30.2%). The results showed that (55.4%) of the elderly expressed a low quality of life. The analysis of variance showed that there were statistically significant differences in QoL between elderly with respect to associated chronic diseases (F=30.496; p=.000). Conclusions: The results of the current study demonstrated that the quality of life for senior people decreases when the incidence of chronic diseases rises like diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Given that the category of the elderly is constantly increasing, and the statistics indicate an increase in chronic diseases at this age stage, it is necessary to conduct more studies that seek to reveal the quality of life of the elderly according to their different circumstances and social statuses.