No abstract

Objective: Health-related quality of life (HQL) among older adults is often neglected and underprioritized in developing countries and is further burdened during natural disasters, such as earthquakes. The main objective of this study was to explore the factors affecting HQL among older adults living in Lalitpur District of Nepal. Methods: A total of 362 older adults participated in this study. Questionnaires were used to interview the respondents on various aspects, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, functional ability, and social support. An analysis was made to explore the factors affecting HQL. Results: HQL scores ranged between 3.13 and 90.63. A majority of the respondents (215/362; 59.4%) scored ≤ 50, indicating poorer HQL. The multivariate analysis found the impact of the following factors on HQL: functional status (β = 0.295; P < 0.001), PTSD (β = −0.225; P < 0.001), chronic disease (β = −0.168; P < 0.001), social support (β = 0.120; P = 0.019), injury (β = −0.104; P = 0.024), age (β = −0.116; P < 0.001), and accessibility to resources. Conclusion: Poor HQL of older adults was dependent on various factors. The disaster preparedness program in Nepal needs urgent attention to address the concerns of older adults by incorporating the findings from this study.

The 25 April 7.8 magnitude Gorkha earthquake and subsequent aftershocks, including the 7.3 magnitude earthquake in Dolakha, severely damaged or destroyed nearly 900,000 buildings and approximately 2.3 million people continue to be displaced. We conducted 284 household surveys in 177 shelter sites spanning 27 Municipalities/VDCs and 7 districts. The aim of the survey was to analyze the shelter response situation in both urban and rural areas with a view on emerging factors influencing the decision processes of displaced households seeking shelter and temporary housing. It was found that in-place sheltering close to damaged homes was favored by many residents in both urban and rural areas as many preferred to stay close to their homes, food reserves, livelihoods and social ties. The experience from this event shows that spontaneous sheltering behavior and participatory management of these sites should be accommodated and supported in the shelter response strategy.