Abstract
Introduction: Paying attention to the quality of life (QOL) in the elderly life is an important issue, given the criticality of this period. The Objective of the present study is to determine social capital and its predictive role on QOL among elderly people living in Tabriz, East- Azerbaijan province, Iran.Methods: The present cross-sectional study was accomplished in 2018 on 522 elderly people referred to the health centers in city of Tabriz. A multi-stage random cluster sampling was implemented. The data were collected, using a demographical questionnaire, Onyx-Bullen social capital, and WHOQOL-BREF QOL questionnaires. Then, they were analyzed by SPSS software version 15 and descriptive (frequency, percentage, mean (SD) and inferential statistics (Pearson, and Multivariate linear regression) were provided.Results: The mean age of the participants was 65.7 years, 58% were women, 85.5% were married, and 37.5% were illiterate. The mean )SD (of social capital score was 71.87 (10.51) (in the range of 36-144) and for QOL, it was 64.64 (10.81) (in the range of 0-100). Social capital had positive and direct relation with QOL. Out of all the variables studied; marital status, education, economic status, health status, the absence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and joint pains had significant relation with QOL. By some modifications in context factors, social capital was considered to be a predictive factor for QOL [β (95%CI): 0.28 to 0.36)].Conclusion: For the promotion of QOL among the elderly, certain strategies must be implemented by health policy makers to enhance social capital among elderly people.
Highlights
Paying attention to the quality of life (QOL) in the elderly life is an important issue, given the criticality of this period
In view of the increasing rate of population aging, alterations in population pyramid, and changes in the type of Iranian families from extended to nucleus type and considering the generated gap between the elderly and young people and little social participation, it seems critical that we focus on QOL of elderly people who are the most vulnerable in the community
The extensive review of literature did not yield any research to have investigated the predictive role of social capital on QOL of the elderly
Summary
Paying attention to the quality of life (QOL) in the elderly life is an important issue, given the criticality of this period. The Objective of the present study is to determine social capital and its predictive role on QOL among elderly people living in Tabriz, EastAzerbaijan province, Iran. The data were collected, using a demographical questionnaire, Onyx-Bullen social capital, and WHOQOL-BREF QOL questionnaires. They were analyzed by SPSS software version 15 and descriptive (frequency, percentage, mean (SD) and inferential statistics (Pearson, and Multivariate linear regression) were provided. Out of all the variables studied; marital status, education, economic status, health status, the absence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and joint pains had significant relation with QOL. Conclusion: For the promotion of QOL among the elderly, certain strategies must be implemented by health policy makers to enhance social capital among elderly people. Parallel to the increase in the number of aged people, enough attention must be paid to their quality of life (QOL) and identifying the effective factors on their QOL to design comprehensive and proper policies regarding elderly people.[6]
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