Morbidity Pattern and Health-related Quality of Life among Elderly in Rural Coastal Karnataka

Abstract

Introduction : In elderly individuals, morbidity has a substantial impact on the physical and psychological well-being. Quality of life in elderly may be affected by the morbidities that they suffer. Material and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September to November 2021 in the rural areas attached to the Rural Health Training Centre of a teaching hospital. Elderly individuals were selected by multistage sampling. The sample size was estimated as 118. Participants’ data was collected using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire regarding their socio-demographic profile and morbidity status. Quality of life (QOL) was assessed by using the WHOQOL-BREF scale. The difference between mean scores in the domains was tested by using an independent sample t-test. Statistical significance was set at 5% level of significance (p < 0.05). Results: Majority (57.6%) of the study population were males, 57.6% were illiterate and only 9.3% lived in joint families. Major morbidities reported were hypertension (55.9%), impaired vision (52.5%) and joint pain or stiffness (50.8%). The mean perceived overall quality of life scores in the study population were 61.9±17.5. Male participants had higher mean social and environmental domain scores. Literate individuals had higher social domain mean scores which was statistically significant. Conclusion: Appropriate rehabilitation measures along with health education with the assistance of a geriatric psychologist in order to identify gaps in QOL domains and approaches to solve them would help to improve the quality of life of the elderly. Keywords: Morbidity, Elderly, Quality of life, Rural