A framework for identifying perceived Quality of Life indicators for the elderly in the neighbourhood context: a case study of Kolkata, India

Abstract

Review of existing research reveals sporadic explorations of the vast concept of perceived Quality of Life (QoL) of elderly. Assessment of QoL of elderly in South Asian countries have been so far based on measurement models developed on western ideologies. The distinctively dissimilar perspectives and philosophies of the elderly living in South Asian countries seeks for development of QoL models from their perspective. The importance of the neighbourhood environment in the lives of the elderly and the preference of the elderly to age-in-place, also necessitates research on improving the QoL of the elderly in the context of their residential environment. This paper, exploring the perspectives of a group of Indian elderly, describes the stages of identification of a set of factors (components) and a broad set of domains (latent constructs which these factors cater to), influencing perceived QoL of Indian elderly to promote ageing-in-place. The methodology combines qualitative and quantitative research techniques, which includes literature review, followed by focus group discussions and close-ended interviews with Indian elderly from varied socio-demographic backgrounds. The present study, using Principal Component Analysis, identifies seven broad domains and 37 QoL factors influencing perceived QoL of Indian and elderly, which can be further validated on a larger sample for the development of a QoL index. The structure of domains and factors, identified for the Indian elderly varies considerably from that identified from literature. The study concludes with an exploration of the prioritisation of the identified domains among different socio-demographic groups.