Activities of daily living, quality of life, social support and depression levels of elderly individuals in Turkish society
Unsar, S.; Dindar, I.; Kurt, S.
JPMA. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association 65(6): 642-646
2015
ISSN/ISBN: 0030-9982 PMID: 26060163 Document Number: 681903
To determine activities of daily living, quality of life, social support and depression levels of elderly individuals and the factors affecting each of these items. The cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2009 to June 2012 in Edirne, Turkey, and included elderly individuals over 60 years of age. Data was collected using a survey form, the Katz Activities of Daily Living Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions scale and the Geriatric Depression Scale. Data was analysed using Spearman's correlation analysis. Of the 912 subjects in the study, 509(55.8%) were females and 402(44.2%) were males, with an overall mean age of 68.05 ± 6.6 years (range: 60-94 years). Besides, 644(70.6%) of the subjects were married and 595(65.2%) were living with their spouse. The levels of social support and activities of daily living of elderly individuals with a high quality of life were higher, and their levels of depression were lower (p<0.05). Older age, chronic health problems and polypharmacy should be taken into account when planning healthcare services for the elderly to ensure that they maintain a better quality of life.