Ankit Yadav, G. S. Meena, Nandini Sharma, Rajesh Kumar

QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE ELDERLY IN THE RURAL REGION OF DELHI, INDIA

Introduction

Quality of life of the elderly in the rural region of delhi, india. Examine the quality of life (QOL) of elderly in rural Delhi, India. This study shows social relationships score highest, while physical health is lowest. Crucial insights for India's growing aged population.

Abstract

Introduction: The proportion of elderly people in India has sharply increased. According to World Population Prospects 2019, the elderly population will be around 19% by 2050. Due to this, there remains a concern about the quality of life (QOL) of the elderly. There is a scarcity of knowledge about QOL and related factors influencing the elderly population, particularly in rural areas of northern India. So, this study was conducted. Aims: To study the quality of life in the elderly aged sixty years and above using WHOQOL-BREF in rural Delhi. Methods: Cross-sectional study in the community. People aged 60 and older in the study area were enrolled using simple random sampling. A total of 195 elderly people were enrolled in the study after obtaining consent. The data was imported into MS Excel and evaluated with SPSS version 25. For descriptive and inferential statistics, p-values of 0.05 were deemed statistically significant. Results: Among the 195 participants, 40.5% were men and 59.5% were women. The proportion of married elderly was 47.7% while the rest were widowed, and 47.2% of the elderly were illiterate. Out of 195 participants, 155 were living in a joint family. Physical health (60.76±11.31), Psychological (67.90±8.71), Social relationship (90.81±12.31), and Environment domain (83.23±11.59) had the highest mean WHOQOL-BREF scores. Conclusions: The QOL score was highest in the social relationship category and lowest in the physical health category. Researchers can conduct a qualitative study in the future to determine the factors affecting quality of life.

Review

This study addresses a highly relevant and growing public health concern regarding the quality of life (QOL) of the elderly population in India, particularly within the under-researched rural context of Delhi. Given the projected demographic shift, understanding the multifaceted aspects of elderly QOL is crucial for targeted interventions and policy development. The research clearly states its aim to assess QOL using the internationally recognized WHOQOL-BREF instrument, which lends credibility to the measurement of this complex construct. The chosen cross-sectional community-based design and the use of simple random sampling are appropriate for establishing baseline prevalence and domain-specific QOL scores. The study's findings provide valuable insights into the QOL profile of the elderly in rural Delhi, highlighting distinct strengths in social relationships and a notable area of concern in physical health. The mean scores across the four WHOQOL-BREF domains (Physical health, Psychological, Social relationship, and Environment) offer a clear snapshot, with social relationships scoring highest and physical health lowest. This prioritization of social connection aligns with cultural contexts often observed in collectivist societies. While the abstract mentions the use of inferential statistics and a p-value threshold, the presented results are primarily descriptive, focusing on mean scores and demographic distributions. A more comprehensive discussion of the inferential findings, linking QOL to specific demographic or socio-economic factors, would further enrich the abstract and demonstrate the full analytical depth of the study. As a cross-sectional study, a primary limitation is its inability to establish causal relationships between factors and QOL outcomes, which the authors implicitly acknowledge by suggesting future qualitative research. This recommendation is sound, as a qualitative approach could provide deeper insights into the "why" behind the observed QOL patterns, particularly regarding the high social relationship scores and low physical health scores. For future quantitative work, the authors could also suggest longitudinal studies to track changes in QOL over time or more detailed correlational analyses to identify significant predictors within the dataset. Overall, this study presents a timely and important contribution to the limited literature on elderly QOL in rural northern India. The abstract is well-structured and clearly conveys the study's purpose, methods, and main findings, suggesting a valuable manuscript that, with minor additions regarding inferential results, would be suitable for publication.

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