A cross-sectional study on quality of life among the elderly in non-governmental organizations’ elderly homes in Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

BackgroundThere is a rapid increase in the population of the elderly globally, and Malaysia is anticipated to become an ageing nation in 2030. Maintaining health, social participation, reducing institutionalization, and improving quality of life of the elderly are public health challenges of the 21st century. Quality of life among elderly in Elderly Homes in Malaysia is under researched. This study aims to determine the quality of life and its associated factors among the Elderly in Elderly Homes in Kuala Lumpur.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study among 203 residents aged 60 years or more in eight randomly selected Elderly Homes in Kuala Lumpur in September 2014. Stratified simple random sampling was used to select participants. Study instruments included World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF), Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support, and a questionnaire for Socio-demographic variables. Data collection was by face to face interview. Univariate and Multivariate analysis were used to determine associations, and P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsThe mean (Standard deviation) for the physical domain was 14.3 (±2.7), 13.7 (±2.5) for the psychological domain, 10.8 (±3.4) for the social domain, and 13.0 (±2.5) for the environment domain. Factors significantly associated with quality of life included age, gender, level of education, economic status, outdoor leisure activity, physical activity, duration of residence, type of accommodation, co-morbidities, and social support.ConclusionThis study confirms that multiple factors are associated with quality of life among elderly in elderly homes. Social support, chronic co-morbidities, gender and outdoor leisure activity were significantly associated with all the domains of quality of life. Among the four domains of quality of life, the physical domain had the highest score while the social domain had the lowest score. This emphasizes the need for more social support-related interventions in these homes.

Differences in the quality of life dependent on family status of the elderly living in rural areas – a cross-sectional survey

“…Results of the current study are similar to those obtained by Kurowska and Kajut [45] where the environmental domain was assessed the highest by respondents living alone. In other studies [41,[47][48][49][50]; however, a tendency to lower assessment of functioning in the physical domain was confirmed. Besides, in the studies, the domain of social contacts was rated the highest.…”

Social support network, mental health and quality of life: a cross-sectional study in primary care

“…A study conducted in Malaysia found that depression and social support were the only factors associated with the physical domain of 12-item Short Form (SF-12) after logistic regression 34 . In another study with elderly subjects in Malaysia, using multiple linear regression, social support was significantly associated with better quality of life in all four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF 35 .…”

Validation of the Malay Version of the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale

“…A greater burden of ill health is felt by developing countries where rapid ageing is likely to increase demands on under‐developed health‐care systems. In Malaysia, the proportion of adults aged 50 years and older is expected to almost double from 8% in 2012 to more than 15% in 2030 …”

“…In Malaysia, the proportion of adults aged 50 years and older is expected to almost double from 8% in 2012 to more than 15% in 2030. 2 Ageing is associated with reduced social contact, 3 and loneliness is more common in the older old, those aged older than 80 years. 4 Loneliness is an indicator of social wellbeing, 5 constitutes a risk factor for mental and physical ill health and can be detrimental to multiple aspects of wellbeing in older age.…”