Fifteen Dimensions of Health and Their Associations with Quality of Life among Elderly in Rural Villages in Maharashtra, (India)

Citation

Ogundare, Olajumoke M.; Shah, Vinod G.; Salunke, Subhash R.; Malhotra, Rahul; Pati, Sanghamitra; Karmarkar, Ankita; Gandhi, Vaidehee S.; Shukla, Shavari R.; Stroo, Marissa; & Jadhav, Sameer K., et al. (2017). Fifteen Dimensions of Health and Their Associations with Quality of Life among Elderly in Rural Villages in Maharashtra, (India). Indian Journal of Gerontology, 31(1), 1-19.

Abstract

Elderly health is a growing priority given growing older-adult populations worldwide. The present study aimed to identify factors that influence health and quality of life (QoL) specifically in rural-dwelling elderly Indians. A cross-sectional survey of 352 elders (=60y) from 10 villages near Pune, Maharashtra, India was conducted to measure the prevalence of 15 dimensions of health: vision, hearing, cognition, mental, social (generativity), physical activity, substance-use, physical-strength, independence in activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL (IADL), dental, nutrition, chronic-pain, sleep and safety (falls). The researchers then examined the associations between these health dimensions and QoL using linear regression. It was found that in general, these elders were physically active (70%), independent and cognitively-intact (55%), however only a minority were free from problems relating to vision (33%), dental (45%), nutrition (30%), mental health (34%) and chronic pain (40%). Adjusted analysis revealed that higher QoL scores were associated with healthy status in seven dimensions: vision (β=4.9, p<0.001), hearing (β=3.5, p=0.003), sleep (β=4.1, p<0.001), dental (β=2.6, p=0.017), mental (β=2.1, p=0.048), independence in ADL (β=4.6, p=0.016) and social health (β=0.3, p<0.001). On the basis of these findings it may be concluded that to achieve comprehensive health and QoL in Elderlies, a proactive and diverse approach to optimizing all significant dimensions of health should be adopted. This is particularly important in rural areas where available medical resources may be limited when it comes to addressing elderly health decline.

URL

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312598698

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2017

Journal Title

Indian Journal of Gerontology

Author(s)

Ogundare, Olajumoke M.
Shah, Vinod G.
Salunke, Subhash R.
Malhotra, Rahul
Pati, Sanghamitra
Karmarkar, Ankita
Gandhi, Vaidehee S.
Shukla, Shavari R.
Stroo, Marissa
Jadhav, Sameer K.
Shah, Meena V.
Maselko, Joanna
Østbye, Truls

ORCiD

Maselko - 0000-0002-6270-8237