Abstract
Background: Population ageing refers to increasing share of older persons which has poised to become one of the most significant social transformations of the twenty-first century. This study aims to assess quality of life (QOL) of elderly in rural area. Methods: This was an observational study with cross-sectional design carried out in 400 elderly participants (60 years and above) in a rural area of district Jhajjar, Haryana. WHOQOL-BREF scale was used. Data entry and analysis was performed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: More than half (55%) of the study participants were in the age group of 60-65 years. 52.5% participants were females. Mean score of environmental domain was highest (62.72±14.18), followed by physical health domain (60.77±15.82). The domain which had the least mean score was social relationships (51.98±18.61). Mean scores of males in all domains were found higher than females and the difference in mean score was statistically significant (p < 0.05), which indicates better QOL of males compared to females. Conclusions: Most of the elderly people (53.8%) had average quality of life. Most of the females (64.8%) had average and 47.9% males had good quality of life. The subjects who were illiterate, financially dependent, having any health problem, of lower socio-economic class, living without partner, unemployed/homemaker had poor quality of life.
Highlights
World’s population is ageing and virtually every country in the world is experiencing growth in the number and proportion of older persons in their population
This study aims to assess quality of life (QOL) of elderly in rural area
45.2% study participants were illiterate while 27% participants were educated up to primary school, followed by secondary school (18.3%) and senior secondary school (6.0%). 50.2% participants were unemployed/homemaker followed by farmer/people related to agriculture (30.3%). 24.3% participants belonged to lower middle class followed by upper lower (23.8%) and upper middle class (19.7%)
Summary
World’s population is ageing and virtually every country in the world is experiencing growth in the number and proportion of older persons in their population. Old age cannot be uniformly defined for all, as the concept of ageing carry different meaning in different societies. This trend has made self-ratings of QOL essential, which is consistent with Diener et al statement: “People react differently to the same circumstances, and they evaluate conditions based on their unique expectations, values, and previous experiences” [7]. This study aims to assess quality of life (QOL) of elderly in rural area. Methods: This was an observational study with cross-sectional design carried out in 400 elderly participants (60 years and above) in a rural area of district Jhajjar, Haryana. Most of the females (64.8%) had average and 47.9% males had good quality of life. The subjects who were illiterate, financially dependent, having any health problem, of lower socio-economic class, living without partner, unemployed/homemaker had poor quality of life
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