Evaluation of the Turkish Version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument-Older Adults’ Module (WHOQOL-OLD)

In recent years, the quality of life has become an important final health status indicator. Thus, increasing the quality of life in the growing population of the elderly is one of the most important goals in healthcare. The purpose of this study was to determine the quality of life of the elderly staying in nursing homes. The research was carried out at the Gürçeşme Zübeyde Hanım Nursing Home, date between 1 July-30 August 2011, in İzmir. 103 elderly individuals, who met the inclusion criteria, constituted the research sample. Researcher collected data in face to face with the elderly participants. 52% of the participants are in 75-84 age group. 58% of the elderly were female; 56,3% were widowed; 61.2% were not literate; 39% have been staying in a nursing home because of no one to look after them; 41.7% had lived in a nursing home longer than seven years. 68.9% had at least one chronic disease, 58.3% of the elderly expressed their quality of life as good. WHOQOL-OLD total score was between 52-86 points (mean 70). The lowest scale mean score was sensory abilities and death and dying, sub-dimension group.The quality of life in elderly people was affected directly by variables such as age, educational level, marital status, social capacity, chronic illnesses, income status, and length of staying in a nursing home. We suggest that improving the social activities and facilities of the institution in line with the results obtained.