Quality of life in seniors living in home environment in Poland and Slovakia.

Abstract

Introduction and objective: Poor motor skills can increase the burden of disease and negatively affect the overall quality of life. The aim of the study was to investigate how people aged 60 and over assess their overall quality of life, overall health status and other domains of life in relation to socio-demographic factors.

Material and methods: The study was conducted among 1,534 people aged 60 and over and living in a home environment - 831 people living in Małopolskie Province in Poland, and 703 people from Prešov Province in Slovakia. Polish and Slovak versions of the standardized WHOQOL-Bref questionnaire were used to assess quality of life. For all tests, a significance level of 0.05 was adopted.

Results: Mean perceived level of quality of life (p=0.000), mean level of satisfaction with one's health status (p=0.001), and results of physical function assessment (p=0.00) were significantly higher among the Polish seniors than among the seniors from Slovakia. In contrast, psychological function (p=0.000) and scores in the environmental domain (p=0.029) were significantly higher in seniors from Slovakia than in those from Poland. Only place of residence of the subjects was not found to be a determinant of their quality of life.

Conclusions: The level of overall quality of life in people over 60 in Poland and Slovakia was good. Age, education, living arrangements and marital status were the socio-demographic factors that were found to determine the level of the quality of life in people aged 60 and over in Poland and Slovakia.