Vulnerability and quality of life of older persons in the community in different situations of family care
Marcelo Geovane Perseguino, Meiry Fernanda Pinto Okuno, Ana Lúcia de Moraes Horta
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: to correlate socio-contextual aspects, physical vulnerability and quality of life of older persons in the community in different situations of family care. METHODS: epidemiological, a cross-sectional and analytical study, with elderly people in the community (n=769), with application of the instruments: Vulnerable Elders Survey-13 (VES-13), World Health Organization Quality of Life for Older Persons (WHOQOL-OLD) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF); and socio-contextual data questionnaire. RESULTS: the population assessed presented an average of regular quality of life in both the WHOQOL-BREF and the WHOQOL-OLD. Older non-vulnerable persons (62.2%) and those with close family contact (82.6%) have a better quality of life than the vulnerable (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: lower quality of life scores and more distant families are related to vulnerable elderly people; thus, the assessment of family proximity and physical vulnerability of older persons is shown to be an important factor in improving quality of life.