The quality of life and its related factors in the elderly covered by health care centers in Khoy city, Iran

Introduction: Ageing is a stage of human life that can affect the quality of life (QOL) of people by being exposed to the resultant problems of old age. Therefore, this study aims to examine QOL and identify the influential factors to adopt accurate and comprehensive policies concerning the senior citizens aged 60 and older in health centers of Khoy city, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 297 elderly. Sampling was performed using multi-stage random sampling method among the healthcare centers. To collect data, Lipad 31-statement QOL questionnaire was used. To analyze the data, SPSS software, descriptive statistical tests, Students' independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance and Pearson correlation were used at the significance level of P < 0.05. Results: The overall score of life quality of the participants was 49.70. Accordingly, 83.8% of the elderly had a medium-quality life. The results of this study showed that there was no difference between the life quality of men and women. In addition, there was a significant correlation between QOL and its dimensions and education, marital status and life partners. Also there was significant negative correlation between QOL and age (r = -0.600, P = 0.001). Conclusion: According to findings of the study, most of the elderly lead a medium-quality life. Education, living with spouse and marital status are influential factors on QOL. Identifying these factors and enhancing them among the elderly can considerably empower the elderly and optimize planning the related issues.