Open AccessFactors Affecting Quality of Life Among the Elderly in Long-Term Care Hospitals
Author(s) -
Hee Kyung Chang,
Cho-rong Gil,
Hye-Jin Kim,
Han-Ju Bea
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the journal of nursing research/the journal of nursing research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.537
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1948-965X
pISSN - 1682-3141
DOI - 10.1097/jnr.0000000000000413
Subject(s) - dependency (uml) , quality of life (healthcare) , psychological intervention , depression (economics) , medicine , regression analysis , gerontology , multilevel model , cognition , long term care , psychology , nursing , psychiatry , systems engineering , machine learning , computer science , engineering , economics , macroeconomics
Background There are challenges in sustaining person-centered care in aged care settings. Key related issues of concern such as quality of life among the older people in long-term care hospitals and interactions with nursing staff have been described previously. Purpose This study was designed to explore the factors affecting quality of life among older people living in long-term care hospitals in South Korea. Methods Older adult patients ( N = 202) in three long-term care hospitals completed measures of cognitive functions, depression, care dependency, and interactions between nurse and patient and a quality-of-life assessment tool. Univariate analyses were used to examine the relationships among these variables, and a multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore the extent to which these variables predicted quality of life in these patients. Results The significant factors associated with quality of life were found to be cognitive functions ( r = .373, p < .001), care dependency ( r = .350, p < .001), and depression ( r = −.504, p < .001). The regression model with depression and care dependency as predictor variables accounted for 25.7% of the variance in quality of life. Conclusions/Implications for Practice The correlation found in this study between quality of life and depression and care dependency provides additional evidentiary support for developing and applying nursing interventions that reduce depression and care dependency in older adult populations.