title: Study on factors associated with changes in quality of life of demented elderly persons in group homes.
abstract: The purpose of the present study was to attempt to identify changes in quality of life (QOL) and factors associated with them shortly after demented elderly residents entered a group home. The subjects were 25 demented elderly persons who had entered a group home within the previous 3 months. Their QOL and factors associated with it were evaluated on two occasions, at baseline and 3 months later. An objective scale for dementia, the Quality of Life Questionnaire for Dementia (QOL-D), was used to evaluate their QOL. The results showed a significant change between the QOL-D scores at baseline and 3 months later, and changes in housekeeping item scores were extracted as factors associated with changes in QOL-D. These findings suggest that the QOL score rises soon after entering a group home, and that the acquisition of roles within the group home may influence the increase in QOL.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Hiroshima University, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Funaki
authors.forename: Fumiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamura
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016352:Group Homes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index