THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND THE INFLUENCING FACTORS AMONG THE POPULATION OVER 65 LIVING IN GAZIANTEP CITY CENTER

Introduction: Quality of life involves being happy and being pleased with the life itself and it is a concept used to describe "being well" in general. The objective of the study is to define quality of life and the influencing factors among the elderly people living in the city center of Gaziantep. Materials and Method: A representative population of 592 inhabitants over 65 living in Gaziantep were studied. The quality of life was evaluated by using the WHOQOL-OLD Questionnaire which consists of 6 domains. Independent Sample t test, One-way ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test and Logistic Regression analysis were used in the analyses. Results: The mean age of the participants was 72.9+/-0.2 The mean scores for quality of life domains of the WHOQOL-OLD, namely Sensory-Abilities, Autonomy, Past Present and Future Activities, Social Participation, Death and Dying, Intimacy and the overall module score were 15.5+/-0.1, 13.0+/-0.1, 12.1+/-0.1, 9.9+/-0.1, 15.9+/-0.1, 13.4+/-0.1 and 55.8+/-0.5 respectively. In the multivariate analysis, the most influential variables affecting the 'high' quality of life were having received primary or higher education (OR=7.9), currently being working (OR=6.6), absence of chronic diseases (OR=4.0), having a monthly income (OR=2.3) and being 65 to 74 years old (OR=2.2). Conclusion: The average quality of life score of the elderly people living in Gaziantep city center was found to be 55 over 100. The quality of life scores are lower than developed countries, but similar to the scores reported in Turkey.