Abstract

SANTOS, Ricardo Manuel da Fonseca; SANTOS, Paulo Miguel da Fonseca; SANTOS, Vera Lúcia Dias Batista  and  DUARTE, João Carvalho. Quality of life in older people: the case of Cova da Beira. Rev. Enf. Ref. [online]. 2013, vol.serIII, n.11, pp.37-48. ISSN 0874-0283.  https://doi.org/10.12707/RIII1210.

Understanding the aging processes that transform our old age from a happy time to a real shipwreck is the research topic of many scientists (Fontaine, 2000). The non-probability convenience sample consisted of 103 elders, of whom 36 were institutionalized and 67 were not institutionalized. This was a correlational study, whose data collection was based on a set of questionnaires and scales. This research focused on elderly residents in Cova da Beira and had the overall objective of identifying key social-familial variables that relate to quality of life, for institutionalized or non-institutionalized elders. The main results showed that all the social-familial variables influenced the quality of life of elders. Social support influenced the quality of life of institutionalized elders. The data also confirmed the influence of instrumental activities of daily living in all areas of quality of life other than sleep and for both institutionalized and non-institutionalized elders. Family functioning, social support and social risk influenced the quality of life of non-institutionalized elders.

Keywords : quality of life; elders; family relations.

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