MEDICAL-SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF PERSONS AGE 60+ RESIDING IN THE GRODNO REGION

Abstract

Aim: to analyze indicators of self-assessment of quality of life, satisfaction with health, their relationship with socio-demographic factors and objective indicators of public health, among people aged 60+ living in the Grodno region. Materials and methods: data from official demographic and health statistics, a representative database of 1270 people aged 60+ of the Grodno region of the Republic of Belarus by gender, residence, age (WHOQOL-BREF tools) were analyzed. Nonparametric statistics methods were used. Results: The Grodno region demonstrates life expectancy at birth values ​​close to the republican average. The minimum values ​​in all regions are detected among men living in the village. In the structure of causes of death rate, diseases of the cardiovascular system lead by far. When self-assessing the quality of life, the options “good” or “neither bad nor good” predominate; satisfaction with the state of health is option “3” of the five-point scale. Men compared to women, rural residents compared to urban residents, unmarried compared to married people rate the quality of life lower. The hypothesis about the positive impact on the quality of life of the respondent having children is confirmed; the hypothesis about the influence of the old-age pension is not confirmed. Health satisfaction reveals resistance to socio-demographic factors. A positive medium-strength correlation is revealed between health satisfaction and self-assessment of quality of life in all socio-demographic groups. With increasing age, there is a decrease in self-esteem of quality of life, and an even more pronounced decrease in satisfaction with health. Conclusion: men aged 60+ living in rural areas are at risk of low self-assessments of quality of life, in connection with low life expectancy; at the same time, health satisfaction does not reveal gender differences.