MEASURING QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG ELDERLY PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM USING WHOQOL-OLD MODULE

Abstract

Quality of life of the elderly is an important issue, as many countries in the world are rapidly entering an aging society. The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an instrument to quantitatively measure the level of quality of life of the elderly, known as WHOQOL-OLD. In Vietnam, quality of life of the elderly has not been investigated, despite the availability of WHOQOL-OLD, and relationships between quality of life and characteristics of older persons are unknown. This study attempts to fill these gaps in the context of Vietnam. In order to test whether the WHOQOL-OLD instrument is applicable to the Vietnamese context, based on a purposively sampled group of 30 older people, reliability and validity tests of the instrument were conducted. The calculation of Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient (0.889) and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were performed, confirming the applicability of the instrument. Face-to-face interviews with 442 elderly people (≥ 60 years) living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, were subsequently conducted and primary data on personal characteristics of the elderly and questions related to the WHOQOL-OLD instrument were collected. Using SPSS version 22 and AMOS version 21, a measure of quality of life of the sample was calculated and the relationships between personal characteristics and the derived measure of quality of life were explored. The average total score of quality of life of elderly people in the sample is quite high at 97.56 (+/- 9.75). The score should be viewed against the fact that nearly 84% of elderly people in the sample report suffering from at least one type of disease and nearly 27% report having poor health. The results indicate that, although health status of the elderly in Vietnam may not be good, they still have a good quality of life. Based on t-tests, ANOVA tests and a multivariate regression, at the 5% level, age, education status, income status and rural residence are factors that statistically affect their quality of life. As age increases, the quality of life declines. When education level increases, quality of life also declines, possibly because their expectations about quality of life are higher. Older adults with enough income and living in a rural area also have a higher quality of life. This study suggests the WHOQOL-OLD module is applicable in the Vietnamese context. This research provides a starting point on which the quality of life of elderly people in Vietnam can be assessed with an internationally standardized instrument. Future research should consider developing a more Vietnam-specific version of the WHOQOL-OLD instrument, addressing unique cultural contexts.