Comparing quality of life, social support and depression among elderly living at home and nursing home residents

Introduction and Aging is a natural and inevitable process that every human being go thorugh. Elderly residing at nursing homes experience more stress and depression that eventually affect their quality of life compared to elderly living in their own home. Meanwhile, social support can promote elderly’s quality of life. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare quality of life, social support and depression among old people living in their own home and nursing home residents. This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in Gilan, north of Iran, 2014 to 2015. Participants in this study were collected using convenience sampling method and composed of 108 individuals (equal numbers of elderly living in their own home and nursing home residents). Data were collected using three questionnaires including SF-12 Quality of Life, Voux Social Support Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory. Data were analyzed using multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA). Results of the present study revealed that elderly living in their own home had better quality of life (F= 288.358, p<0.01), higher social support (F= 185.589, p<0.01) and lower Depression (X= 302.266, p<0.001) in comparison to elderly residing in nursing home. According to the results of the current study, it is better to accommodate elderly in their own home till last day of their life. This is due to the fact that old people are more dynamic in their own home, would be able to take care of children, maintaine their relationships and receive support from family members.