| Abstract |
While the life expectancy is increased, the population of the elderly people is also increased. Nowadays, the 10% of the European elderly people have increased care requirements and institutional care is being provided to them. Thus, the investigation of the Health Related Quality of Life (H.R.Q.L.) of the institutionalized elderly is of great interest in terms of Social Care.
The aim of the current study is the evaluation of the H.R.Q.L. of the institutionalized elderly people living in the almshouse of Heraklion. The study focused in the field of the mobility, pain, sleep, activity, emotional reactions and social isolation, in order to be better understood the potential improvement of the elderly’s life upon interventions of the referred circumstances of H.R.Q.L.
The study was carried out in the almshouse-nursing home of Heraklion of Crete (March 2013-March 2014). For the purpose of the study all the residents (116) of the Institution, were asked to participate in the study and 92 of them gave their consent. A cross-sectional analysis was used for the purposes of the current case study. For the collection of the data, the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) questionnaire was used. NHP questionnaire is an internationally recognized quality of life questionnaire for its appropriateness to be used to institutionalized elderly.
According to the results of this study, health related problems affect negatively the issues studied that were mentioned above. In particular, people with cardiovascular diseases have statistically worse quality of life in terms of activity and feeling of pain, than people who do not have cardiovascular diseases. The individuals with mobility problems not only have decreased H.R.Q.L. in terms of mobility, activity and feeling of pain, but also in terms of emotional reactions. On the other hand, the individuals with hearing or vision problems have decreased quality of life in terms of mobility and activity, respectively. It was also concluded, that individuals with one or more health related problems have decreased H.R.Q.L in terms of activity, feeling of pain and mobility. Last but not least, it was also statistically implied a positive correlation between the age of the elderly and the fields of activity, feeling of pain, sleep and time of residence in the institution. When these parameters were increased, according to the results derived from the use of the NHP, a decreased level of H.R.Q.L. was observed.
As a conclusion, it can be said, that the highest H.R.Q.L. levels were observed in the people with activity problems followed by individuals with mobility and emotional reaction problems. It was also observed, that sleep, social isolation and feeling of pain contribute to a lesser extent to the discomfort of the elderly.
The current study is a useful tool for the evaluation of the H.R.Q.L. of the residents participated in the study and also of the factors influence the H.R.Q.L. This study also contributes to a better understanding of the fields of improvement that can have beneficial effects to the H.R.Q.L. of the elderly. In addition, the current study can be a useful tool for future relevant studies in Greece or abroad.
Key
|
Collections
