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Elderly people's quality of life in rural areas of Turkey and its relationship with loneliness and sociodemographic characteristics
Author(s) -
Çam Cüneyt,
Atay Emrah,
Aygar Hatice,
Öcal Ece E.,
Önsüz Muhammed F.,
Işıklı Burhanettin,
Metintaş Selma
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
psychogeriatrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.647
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1479-8301
pISSN - 1346-3500
DOI - 10.1111/psyg.12741
Subject(s) - loneliness , marital status , quality of life (healthcare) , psychological intervention , gerontology , bayesian multivariate linear regression , psychology , autonomy , social support , ucla loneliness scale , scale (ratio) , medicine , regression analysis , environmental health , psychiatry , social psychology , geography , population , psychotherapist , cartography , machine learning , computer science , political science , law
Background The aim of the present study was to examine the relationships between loneliness, quality of life and the factors that may be related to the quality of life in individuals ≥65 years old living in rural areas of Turkey. Methods The World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument Older Adults Module (WHOQOL OLD) and Loneliness Scale for the Elderly (LSE) was administered to 427 elderly participants. Multiple linear regression was used to determine the variables that affected QOL. Results The results of the multivariate linear regression analyses indicated that gender, marital status, education level, family income status, general health condition, living arrangement, and loneliness level for subdomains were within the predictors. Loneliness level had the strongest negative impact on the four WHOQOL OLD subdomains and total WHOQOL OLD score. It was the most important predictor for autonomy, past present future activities, social participation, death‐and‐dying, and intimacy subdomains and for the total QOL. Conclusions Remarkably, a sense of loneliness in the elderly was determined to be the most important factor for predicting their QOL. Loneliness should be considered in attempts to improve QOL for the elderly, interventions to reduce loneliness should specifically target this group, and activities with the potential to increase QOL should be encouraged.