Do quality of life, participation and environment of older adults differ according to level of activity?

Abstract

Background: Activity limitation is one of the most frequent geriatric clinical syndromes that have significant individual and societal impacts. People living with activity limitations might have fewer opportunities to be satisfied with life or experience happiness, which can have a negative effect on their quality of life. Participation and environment are also important modifiable variables that influence community living and are targeted by health interventions. However, little is known about how quality of life, participation and environment differ according to activity level. This study examines if quality of life, participation (level and satisfaction) and perceived quality of the environment (facilitators or obstacles in the physical or social environment) of community-dwelling older adults differ according to level of activity.

Accomplishment level and satisfaction with social participation of older adults: association with quality of life and best correlates

“…To ensure various levels of activity limitations (none, slight to moderate, and moderate to severe), participants were recruited according to their score on the functional autonomy measurement system [33] (SMAF) as described elsewhere [13]. Eligibility criteria were (1) normal cognitive functions (score on the minimental state examination equal to or above the 25th percentile for age and schooling) and (2) good understanding of French or English.…”

“…To our knowledge, stability of activity level has rarely been considered in previous studies, although it might be a prerequisite to engagement in social participation and a feeling of satisfaction with social participation. Activity level has been found to be one of the most powerful correlates or predictors of level of social participation [13,28,[57][58][59][60][61][62] and, although less studied, of satisfaction with social participation [13]. The ability of an individual to perform a task or action clearly partially explained his/her ability to participate in social roles, which are more complex and often require prior completion of daily activities (e.g., dressing, bathing, eating, etc.).…”

“…To our knowledge, there are only a few studies [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] that consider both accomplishment level and satisfaction with social participation. Among these, four studies [14,15,18,19] specifically aimed to explore the relationships between accomplishment level of social participation and satisfaction with the accomplishment level of social participation.…”

“…Specifically, QOL and satisfaction with social participation have been demonstrated to be greater for participants without activity limitations than for those with moderate to severe activity limitations [13]. Moreover, one [14] of the previous studies explored if QOL is associated with accomplishment level and satisfaction with social participation.…”

The relationship between fatigue and participation in spinal cord injury

“…10 This paindepression-fatigue triad is commonly reported clinically and in the literature as a complex multifactorial relationship that impacts function for individuals after SCI 11 and has been demonstrated to be associated with factors such as physical activity. 5 Pain 8 and depression 12 have each been shown to be associated with participation in community activities, an outcome recognized for its relationship to overall health 13 and quality of life. 14 The relationships between factors are complex, and, it is clear it would be difficult to consider the association between participation and a single factor (that is, fatigue), without considering the influence of related factors.…”