Abstract:
Background: Sri Lanka’s population is rapidly aging. Quality of Life (QOL) of older people in
many countries is in jeopardy at present and Sri Lanka is no exception. QOL among the older
people is often associated with physical deterioration along with their health conditions.
Objectives: This paper describes QOL and health status of older people in Galle and the impact
of gender and age on QOL of them.
Methods: A cross sectional study was done using a random sample of older people aged 60
years and above living in Galle district. A pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire was
used to collect data. Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale, World Health Organization Quality
Of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) scale, Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE) scale and
Center for Epidemiologic Studies depression scale (CES-D Scale) were used to collect data.
These scales were validated and used in community surveys in Sri Lanka. Health status was
measured by assessing health conditions using available health records. Descriptive statistics
and t-test were used in the analysis. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Review
Committee, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna, Galle, Sri Lanka.
Results: A total of 396 older people participated in the study. Mean age of the participants was
69 (±7.2) years, and the majority were females (n = 268, 67.7%). Hypertension, cardiovascular
diseases, diabetes, joint related diseases and vision problems were common in this target
population. Older women were more likely than older men to suffer from joint related disease
and older men were more likely than older women to suffer from cardiovascular diseases and
hearing deficiencies. There was no gender difference of the mean ADL values, but those of aged
70 or more years reported slightly lower mean ADL value than those of 60-69 years (98.46 vs
99.60, p < 0.01). No gender or age differences of the mean CES-D values and mean MMSE
scores were found. The mean value of QOL of younger older people were slightly higher than
that of others (308.4 vs 296.6, p < 0.01), but no gender difference was found.
Conclusion: Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, arthritis and vision problems are prevalent in
older people in Galle. Health authorities should pay attention to reduce incidence rates of these
diseases and particular attention should be paid to provide healthcare facilities to older women
with joint diseases. Interventions that support active lifestyle in older people in advanced ages
would probably facilitate them to enhance their QOL.
