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Health and Quality of Life Outcomes
Published in: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research

A cross-sectional study on quality of life among the elderly in non-governmental organizations’ elderly homes in Kuala Lumpur

Authors: Obinna Francis Onunkwor, Sami Abdo Radman Al-Dubai, Philip Parikial George, John Arokiasamy, Hemetram Yadav, Ankur Barua, Hassana Ojonuba Shuaibu

Published in: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

There is a rapid increase in the population of the elderly globally, and Malaysia is anticipated to become an ageing nation in 2030. Maintaining health, social participation, reducing institutionalization, and improving quality of life of the elderly are public health challenges of the 21st century. Quality of life among elderly in Elderly Homes in Malaysia is under researched. This study aims to determine the quality of life and its associated factors among the Elderly in Elderly Homes in Kuala Lumpur.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study among 203 residents aged 60 years or more in eight randomly selected Elderly Homes in Kuala Lumpur in September 2014. Stratified simple random sampling was used to select participants. Study instruments included World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF), Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support, and a questionnaire for Socio-demographic variables. Data collection was by face to face interview. Univariate and Multivariate analysis were used to determine associations, and P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

The mean (Standard deviation) for the physical domain was 14.3 (±2.7), 13.7 (±2.5) for the psychological domain, 10.8 (±3.4) for the social domain, and 13.0 (±2.5) for the environment domain. Factors significantly associated with quality of life included age, gender, level of education, economic status, outdoor leisure activity, physical activity, duration of residence, type of accommodation, co-morbidities, and social support.

Conclusion

This study confirms that multiple factors are associated with quality of life among elderly in elderly homes. Social support, chronic co-morbidities, gender and outdoor leisure activity were significantly associated with all the domains of quality of life. Among the four domains of quality of life, the physical domain had the highest score while the social domain had the lowest score. This emphasizes the need for more social support-related interventions in these homes.
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Metadata
Title
A cross-sectional study on quality of life among the elderly in non-governmental organizations’ elderly homes in Kuala Lumpur
Authors
Obinna Francis Onunkwor
Sami Abdo Radman Al-Dubai
Philip Parikial George
John Arokiasamy
Hemetram Yadav
Ankur Barua
Hassana Ojonuba Shuaibu
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1477-7525
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-016-0408-8

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