Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

As the life expectancy increases, the importance of elderly people’s quality of life becomes more apparent. The present investigation is aimed to assess the health-related Quality of life of elderly people living in two settings: (i) residents in a nursing home and (ii) elderly people living at homes in a district of North Iran. The study was conducted as a crosssectional analytical study. Data was collected by face to face interviewing technique using the Iranian version of the short form health survey questionnaire (SF-36) and a form designed by the researchers for recording sociodemographic characteristics. The data are drawn from 220 elderly (>60 years of age) sampled from both settings. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The average scores for several domains including total physical health, total mental health and overall health (total SF-36 score) were less than 50, which can be interpreted as a less desirable level of health-related quality of life in Iranian elderly people. Residents living at homes scored better in all domains of SF-36. Multiple regression analysis indicated that residency, marital status and education had a significant coefficient for total SF-36 score.The health related quality of life of elderly people in one city in Iran, particularly those in nursing homes, is inadequate. There is a need to design programs to increase elderly people’s interaction with others and establish social networks for them and opined that these may enhance a sense of positive quality of life among the elderly. Keywords: Quality of life, Elderly, Nursing home, SF36