Evaluation of the quality of life of elderly people with chronic diseases

The purpose of this thesis is the comparison of some chosen aspects of life quality of elderly people that are chronically ill and reside uder institutional care or stay at their own homes. Research covered 100 seniors, ages from 65 to 92, including 50 patients of the Nursing and Therapeutic Institution in Nowy Targ and 50 ill and elderly people staying at their homes and using home rehabilitation. 50 men and 50 women were interviewed. To carry out the research I used the diagnostic survey method. The quality of life of the subjects was evaluated by means of the standard WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Three other standard questionnairies were also used in the research: the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Tinetti’s Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA) and the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale (IADL). ZOL’s members rated lower satisfaction with quality of life and their health, compared to seniors staying in homes under the care of their families. In the study groups, significantly higher quality of life in four areas was found in the group of seniors living in their own homes compared to the seniors living in ZOL. Based on the research results it was found that the evaluation of quality of life of elderly people significantly depends on the environment they live in.