Older people who participated in the study described quality of life as being healthy, having peace, living in harmony, feeling happy and satisfied. Quality of life (CV) is the degree to which a person is healthy, comfortable and able to participate or enjoy special occasions and life activities. It is essential that healthcare professionals consider quality of life when setting care goals for each patient and use it as a guide for all care decisions. Quality of life is often defined as the degree to which a person is healthy, comfortable, and able to participate or enjoy special occasions and activities. As such, it's very personal.
What one person considers quality of life can vary widely with that of another person. For many people, quality of life often revolves around health and health care options, that is, when people and their doctors make decisions about medical issues. They must take into account the effect on quality of life. The Pew Research survey asked respondents what their perceptions were about the characteristics and functions that influence quality of life in old age. About half of adults (49%) say that being able to speak or communicate is extremely important for a good quality of life in old age.
A similar proportion of adults say that being able to eat (45%), enjoy life (44%) and live free of severe and long-lasting pain (43%) are extremely important for a good quality of life. A smaller number of respondents rate other characteristics as extremely important, such as having a long-term memory of important people and experiences (37%), feeling that what you do is worthwhile (37%), being able to dress (36%) and having a short-term memory of the events that have occurred today (30%).Studies have shown that older people with a sense of purpose are less susceptible to cognitive decline, heart attacks, and strokes, and may even live longer. Why? Because they are more likely to take better care of themselves through physical activity and are less susceptible to overwhelming stress. Learning new things and keeping your mind stimulated improves brain health.
And physical activity has been shown to delay or even improve physical disability. A reduction in the amount of time spent on physical activity when adults are over 60 years old is linked to a lower quality of life, a Cambridge study with nearly 1500 adults has shown. In addition, a crucial effort in this context is the search for the meaning of one's own companies and challenges (purpose in life). Emerging data sources (for example, portable devices or data derived from electronic medical records using machine learning) are expected to provide more continuous empirical metrics to complement the information on quality of life reported by the users themselves.
Quality of life is a multidimensional construction that includes several concepts, such as physical, social and mental health, as well as satisfaction with life and well-being. A better understanding of the factors associated with quality of life could help health professionals develop interventions that improve it. Therefore, the self-esteem of older adults is closely related to the activities they can do and to the achievements and roles in current and former life. So it's not surprising that, in our study, greater depression is linked to a better quality of life.
This assessment is not always taught or emphasized sufficiently in traditional medical education, which tends to focus on diagnosis and life extension. People who engaged in more moderate to vigorous physical activity and spent less time sedentary at their first evaluation had a better quality of life later on. Staying active and limiting (and, as far as possible, separating) the amount of time you spend sitting is very important at whatever stage of life you're in. A greater purpose in life, personal growth, a better perception of health, and lower anxiety and depression were significantly associated with a higher level of quality of life.
For example, those who consider that being able to communicate with others or to live without severe pain in the long term is extremely important for a good quality of life are more likely to pass laws that allow physician-assisted suicide, compared to those who consider that these characteristics are less important for good quality of life. of life. In short, many of the problems associated with aging can increase without the drive and inspiration to live a meaningful life, and the result can be an unnecessary surrender to the effects of aging. Purpose in life and personal growth were related to eudemonic well-being and, therefore, to quality of life.
The results of this study highlight that, in general, quality of life decreases with psychological distress and increases with psychological well-being. In addition, it is necessary to know what quality of life is from the perspective of older adults themselves in order to evaluate the validity of the content of existing quality of life measures.
