Comparison of quality of life and mental health among elderly people in rural and suburban areas, Thailand.
This community based cross-sectional study design assessed the quality of life, mental and physical health among people aged > or = 60 years living in rural and suburban areas of northern Thailand. A cluster random sampling technique was used. The instruments used to assess quality of life were the Thai General Health Questionnaire (Thai-28), the WHO Quality of Life Assessment in Thai (WHOQOL-BREF-THAI), and a history and physical examination. The validity and reliability of the 2 written instruments (Thai-28 and WHOQOL-BREF-THAI) were detected and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.84 for the WHOQOL-BREF-THAI, and 0.94 for the Thai GHQ-28. The face-to face interview were conducted by trained interviewers. A chi-square test was used to determine significant differences at alpha = 0.05. Two hundred forty-seven subjects were recruited into the study, of which 225 were used for analysis. Forty-eight point five percent and 51.5% of subjects were from rural and semi-urban areas, respectively. Forty-five point three percent were males; the main age group was 70-79 years old (46.5%). The subjects from suburban areas had a higher quality of life in aspect to physical health (p = 0.011), mental health (p = 0.025), and social relationships (p = 0.012). Social relationships among females from difference areas were significantly different (p = 0.01). Subjects from rural areas had better mental health than those from suburban (p = 0.0001). Living in a suburban area had both positive and negative associations with quality of life that need to be further clarified to develop an elderly health care model for the community.
School of Health Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, Thailand. tk2516ms@hotmail.com
Tawatchai
T
Apidechkul
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012931:Social Environment; D018881:Suburban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013785:Thailand