Aging & Society: Eighth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Aging is accompanied by a variety of challenges and tensions that have consequences for health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of older people. This study was conducted to describe factors associated with HRQOL of older people in Tehran city. This descriptive correlational study was conducted on older people above sixty years old of Jahandidegan Centers of Tehran. 400 elder persons were selected of research centers based on stratified sampling. A socio-demographic questionnaire and Iranian versions of the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) were used for data collection. Content validity and Cronbach’s alpha were used for evaluation of validity and reliability of questionnaires. Data were analyzed with SPSS software. 75% of older people were female and 25% male with a mean age of 67.65 (± 6.38). The mean scores for quality of life domains ranged from 11.22 (±9.5) for role physical function to 63.83 (± 25.02) for social function. The scores of HRQOL domains were influenced significantly of age, gender, marital status, education level, living alone versus with others, and annual number of physician visits. The findings of this study showed that HRQOL of older people is lower than expected and related to socio-demographic characteristics. Tailored and targeted strategies to improve the health status and HRQOL of older people is necessary.