title: Subjective perception of health in elderly inpatients.
abstract: There is evidence that subjective health is an important variable in general health outcomes. It can be an indicator of the individual's overall health status, creating a reliable and valid estimate about health. Quality of life (QoL) assessment can be associated with the individuals' subjective assessment of their own health status. The aim of the present study was to investigate variables associated with subjective perception of health in older inpatients. Ninety elderly inpatients over 60 years old were interviewed. The perception of health assessment (healthy/unhealthy) allocated elders in either of two groups. All the elders answered sociodemographic questions, the WHOQOL-100 and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Comparing the group that considered themselves unhealthy to the other group, the former showed a tendency of worse QoL assessments in five out of six domains investigated. Significant differences were found for the physical and level of independence domains, as well as overall QoL. There was a significant association between health perception and lower intensity of depressive symptoms, as well as better QoL perception in the level of independence domain. This study shows the existence of an association between depressive symptoms and health assessment. It also suggests that the independence dimension is important in the elders' perception of their health status. These findings can help identify cause-effect relations between variables in aging studies involving health indicators and bring new intervention proposals for the elderly.
authors: Institute of Psychology, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors: Clarissa
authors: C
authors: Trentini
authors: Gabriela
authors: G
authors: Wagner
authors: Eduardo
authors: E
authors: Chachamovich
authors: Michelle
authors: M
authors: Figueiredo
authors: Leda
authors: L
authors: da Silva
authors: Vania
authors: V
authors: Hirakata
authors: Marcelo
authors: M
authors: Fleck
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001938:Brazil; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012923:Social Class; D013223:Statistics as Topic