Quality of life among older people with poor functioning. The influence of perceived control over life.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the apparently incongruous coupling of poor physical functioning with high QoL.


METHODS
Face-to-face interview survey of random sample of 999 people aged 65+ across Britain.


RESULTS
Twenty-one per cent of respondents reported fairly to very severe levels of functional difficulty, and 62% of these rated their QoL as 'good'. Better self-rated health, lower burden of chronic disease, not having fallen, higher social engagement and higher levels of perceived control ver life, distinguished between people who had difficulties with physical functioning and who perceived their QoL to be 'good', rather than 'not good'. The open-ended survey responses broadly supported the quantitative findings.


CONCLUSIONS
People with difficulties with physical functioning, who perceived their QoL to be 'not good', as opposed to 'good', were adversely affected by a higher burden of disease and having fewer socio-psychological resources to help them to cope effectively.
Bowling
Ann
A
Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences, University College London, Hampstead Campus, London, UK. a.bowling@ucl.ac.uk
Seetai
Sharon
S
Morris
Richard
R
Ebrahim
Shah
S
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception; D011788:Quality of Life; D012944:Social Support; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology