ABSTRACT:
Introduction- Ageing is a universal, inevitable and irreversible process occurring during life time. With increase in life expectancy and rise of geriatric population, it is a challenge to delay the onset of disability and ensure good quality of life.1 Quality of Life includes subjective evaluation of both positive and negative aspects of Life. During senescence, older people suffer from multimorbidity, disturbed sleep, low self-esteem which influences their quality of life. Aim- To study the quality of Life among elderly in a rural area of Ludhiana, Punjab, India Methodology- This cross-sectional study was carried out in Rural field practice area of Department of Community Medicine, Dayanand Medical College& Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. A total of 425 study subjects aged 60 years or more were selected by systematic random sampling. Quality of Life of subjects was assessed by using PGI Quality of Life scale. Data was entered in MS excel and analyzed using SPSS 20.0. Results- A total of 425 elderly subjects were interviewed. Out of 425 subjects, 142 (33.4%) were having fair/poor perceived quality of Life. The proportion of subjects having excellent quality of life decreased with increase in age while those having poor quality of life increased as age advances. High socio-economic status was associated with good quality of Life. The subjects who were involved in decision making in family had Excellent/Good quality of Life. Out of total ,75.8% were having chronic morbidity. One third of study subjects with chronic morbidity had fair/poor quality of Life. Conclusion- Chronic morbidity, age, involvement in decision making and socio-economic status were predictors of Quality of Life among study subjects.