Factors Affecting Quality of Life among Older Adults with Hypertension in Urban and Rural Areas in Thailand: A Cross-Sectional Study

The Effectiveness of an Information-Motivation Behavioral Skill Health Promotion Video on Health Status Among Chiang Mai University Personnel During the COVID-19 Pandemic

PURPOSE

The purpose of this research was to study the effectiveness of the IMB Educational Health Promotion (IMBEHP) video for improving quality of life, health risk awareness, and health promotion among Chiang Mai University (CMU) personnel.

METHODS

This research was a quasi-experimental study with a 1-group pre-posttest design. The sample group included 528 CMU personnel who worked at the university between June 2020 and December 2021. Data collection was conducted before and after participants watched the IMB health promotion video.

RESULTS

After watching the video, the participants' quality of life scores were at a medium level. Moreover, physical health, mental health, social relations, and total quality of life score measures showed statistically significant differences between before and after viewing, at P < .05. The mean total for quality of life increased from the prior intervention implementation. Understanding of health risks also increased after watching the video, and the levels of health risk increased as follows: low level of health risk increased to 343 (64.96%), followed by medium and high health risk, at 21.78% (n = 115) and 10.04% (n = 53), respectively. Lastly, awareness about nutrition was statistically significant at .05.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study demonstrate the efficacy of video in educating, motivating, and developing health-promoting skills among this population. After watching the video, CMU personnel increased their awareness of chronic disease risk factors, health promotion practice, illnesses prevention, healthy behaviors, and improvement of quality of life.

The mediation of health-promoting lifestyle on self-perceived health status and quality of life among nurses: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Nurses with busy workloads lack the time to maintain health, leading to a decline in physical and mental health and quality of life. It is widely accepted that self-perception of health triggers health-promoting behaviors and impacts the quality of life; however, the relationship between these factors among nurses is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of a health-promoting lifestyle to mediate the relationship between self-perceived health and quality of life among nurses.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in four regional Taiwanese teaching hospitals with over 500 beds. The survey used stratified random sampling of 600 nurses who had worked for more than six months. The Self-Perceived Health Questionnaire, the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale were used to measure nurses' self-perceived health (SPH), health-promoting lifestyle (HPL), and quality of life (QoL). A Hayes PROCESS analysis and bootstrapping method were used for the mediation analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 518 nurses' data was included in the analysis. Nurses perceived their health status as less favorable than their colleagues, but frequently adopted health promotion behaviors. Nurses reported a moderate QoL. QoL and SPH were correlated (r = .33) and a high correlation between QoL and HPL (r = .64) was found. SPH and HPL both affect QoL (B = 0.077 and 0.070). SPH and HPL explained 42.6% of the variation in QoL. HPL played a partial mediation role.

CONCLUSIONS

The study confirmed that HPL has an important role in mediating nurses' SPH and QoL. Nurse administrators are advised to encourage nurses to monitor their health status and provide health promotion mechanisms to improve their quality of life.

The Relationship Between Quality of Life and Depressive Symptoms Among Jordanian Community-Dwelling Older Adults

OBJECTIVE

The current study aimed to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and quality of life among Jordanian community-dwelling older adults.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, descriptive correlational design was used. A convenience sample (N = 602) was selected to recruit the participants in the Amman governorate during the period from August to November 2021.

RESULTS

Findings demonstrated that the mean (SD) age of older adults was 67.5 (7.0) years and 51.5% of participants were females. Also, 54.1% of the participants experienced moderate to severe depressive symptoms with a total mean (SD) score was 8.57 on a scale of 0 to 15, while the mean (SD) for the quality of life scale was 12.12 (3.85) on a scale of 4 to 20. Significant differences existed in quality of life and depressive symptoms based on marital status (p < .001), educational level (p < .001), working status (p < .01), income (p < .001), and chronic disease (p < .01). Quality of life and its domains were negatively associated with depressive symptoms (B= - 0.596, p < .001). Also, marital status, working, educational level, income, and chronic disease were associated with depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSION

Strategies to improve quality of life should be promoted to minimize depressive symptoms among older adults and consider significant demographic factors.

Socioeconomic status and quality of life among older adults with hypertension in rural Shandong, China: a mediating effect of social capital

Background

Improving the quality of life (QoL) of older adults is becoming an important global issue. However, very few studies have been focused on the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and QoL in older adults with hypertension. The purpose of this study is to investigate (a) the status of QoL and (b) the mediating effect of social capital in the relationship between SES and QoL, among rural older adults with hypertension in China.

Methods

Using multistage stratified random sampling, a face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted among rural older adults with hypertension in Shandong province of China from June to July 2021. Three typical measures representing SES were used, namely, annual household income, educational level, and employment status. Individual social capital and QoL were assessed by the Resource Generator-China Scale (RG-China) and a 34-item simplified Patient Report Outcome (PRO)-specific scale for older adults with hypertension, respectively. A total of 950 rural older adults with hypertension were included in the analysis. The mediation model based on bootstrap analyses was employed to explore the relationship between SES and QoL and the mediating role of social capital in the SES-QoL nexus.

Results

The sampled rural older adults with hypertension had an upper-middle level of QoL, and the average score was 132.57 ± 19.40. SES was positively correlated with both QoL and individual social capital; individual social capital was significantly positively correlated with QoL. Controlling for sociodemographic variables, SES was still significantly associated with individual social capital (β = 0.140, P < 0.001), and the higher the individual social capital, the better QoL (β = 0.153, P < 0.001). Individual social capital played a partially mediating role in the association between SES and QoL (indirect effect = 0.021, 95% CI: 0.010-0.038), which accounted for 9.38% of the total effect.

Conclusion

This study provides evidence that the effect of SES on QoL was partially mediated by individual social capital among rural older adults with hypertension in China. The government should pay more attention to the rural older hypertensive population with lower SES and strive to reduce the negative impact of poor SES on their QoL, based on effective strategies including improving their individual social capital.

Social and Health Determinants of Quality of Life of Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Malaysia

Quality of life (QOL) of older adults is a complex issue that requires an understanding of the intersection between socioeconomic and health factors. A poor quality of life (QOL) is frequently reported as sub-optimal among older adults whereby concerted and collective actions are required through an evidence-based approach. Hence, this cross-sectional study aims to determine the social and health predictors of the QOL of a community-dwelling older adult Malaysian population through a quantitative household survey using multi-stage sampling. A total of 698 respondents aged 60 years old and older were recruited and the majority of them had a good quality of life. Risk of depression, disability, living with stroke, low household income, and lack of social network were identified as the predictors of a poor QOL among the community-dwelling older Malaysians. The identified predictors for QOL provided a list of priorities for the development of policies, strategies, programmes, and interventions to enhance the QOL of the community-dwelling older Malaysians. Multisectoral approaches, especially collective efforts from both social and health sectors, are required to address the complexities of the ageing issues.

Diet Quality Variation among Polish Older Adults: Association with Selected Metabolic Diseases, Demographic Characteristics and Socioeconomic Status

A lot of civilization diseases are related to a low-quality diet, which is often determined by environmental factors. The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between the quality of diet and the selected metabolic diseases, as well as demographic characteristics and socioeconomic status among Polish seniors. The study was conducted on the basis of the KomPAN questionnaire (Questionnaire for Dietary Views and Habits). The research sample was chosen arbitrarily. In addition, in order to diversify the research sample, the use of the snowball method was used. The study was conducted from June to September 2019 in a group of 437 people aged 60 or more years in two regions of Poland. Two diet quality indices with a potentially beneficial (pHDI-10) and adverse impact on health (pHDI-14) were selected based on data on the frequency of consumption of 24 food groups using the KomPAN questionnaire data development procedure. Based on the intensities (low, moderate, high) and combinations of these indices, three diet quality index profiles were developed with potentially different influences on health: lower (lowest), middle (intermediate) and upper (highest). Logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between diet quality indices, some metabolic diseases (obesity, arterial hypertension, diabetes type 2), demographic characteristics (gender, age, place of residence), and socioeconomic status (low, moderate, high). It was shown that in the examined seniors with selected metabolic diseases, the higher quality diet was more common among women, urban inhabitants and subjects with higher socioeconomic status. In turn, among the elderly with obesity, a high-quality diet was observed more often in people aged 60-74 years and those with type II diabetes at ages 75 years or more. The relationships between diet quality, demographic characteristics and socioeconomic status were demonstrated, but it was not possible to obtain unambiguous results on the relationship of these variables with the occurrence of metabolic diseases. Further extended studies should assess the importance of diet quality in reducing the risk of metabolic diseases in the elderly, taking into account the variability resulting from the environmental characteristics of the study population.

Green Pit Viper Envenomations in Bangkok: A Comparison of Follow-Up Compliance and Clinical Outcomes in Older and Younger Adults

We compared older and younger adults envenomated by the green pit viper (GPV) with regard to the following: follow-up compliance, elapsed time between envenomation and emergency department (ED) visit, and clinical/treatment outcomes. This was a two-site retrospective cohort study. We searched hospital electronic medical databases between January 2011 and December 2021. Patients aged 15 and above were eligible if they had a history of snakebite and had at least two VCT and/or platelet count results in their medical records. After the search, 1550 medical records were reviewed and 760 cases were found to be eligible for analysis. In total, 205 cases (27.0%) were ≥60 years old. The median ages in the younger and older groups were 40 (26-51) and 68 (64-75) years, respectively. The median elapsed times from bite to the ED were 47 (30-118) vs. 69 (35-150) min (p-value = 0.001). Overall, 91.3% of all cases were managed as out-patient cases and were eligible for follow-up appointments. The rate of out-patient follow-up at 72 ± 12 h in the older patients was significantly higher (43.2%) than in the younger adult patients (32.4%) (p-value = 0.01). Regarding the clinical/treatment outcomes, the rates of coagulopathy, antivenom administration, and hospital admission were not statistically different between both groups.

The Impact of Physical Activity Levels and Functional Fitness Status on the Quality of Life Perceived by Older Adults Living in Rural and Urban Areas: The Portuguese Inland Case

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is influenced by several factors, such as living place, physical activity (PA), and functional fitness levels. Evidence shows that functional fitness and PA levels are strongly associated with positive HRQoL, especially in the older population. However, the impact of the living place has not been investigated as an influencing variable in this context. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between the HRQoL, PA, and functional fitness of older adults living in rural and urban areas of Portugal. A cross-sectional study was performed with community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and over (n = 261) living in the city of Guarda. The participants were assessed for sociodemographic, anthropometric, clinical health, HRQoL, PA levels, and functional fitness status. The results showed that rural residents presented higher scores of HRQoL and functional fitness than older individuals living in urban areas. Regression models showed that functional fitness variables influence the HRQoL overall score and mental and physical subcomponents of HRQoL, regardless of the living place. In contrast, PA levels only influenced the HRQoL score in rural residents. The findings suggest that intervention programs to improve the physical health, quality of life, and well-being of the older population need to consider the country’s different geographical areas.

Factors Associated with a Health-promoting Lifestyle among Adults and Older Adults in the Era of COVID-19: An Integrative Review

AIM: To identify the factors associated with a health-promoting lifestyle (HPL) among adults or older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: On the basis of the PRISMA guidelines, primary articles published in English within the period from December 2019 to December 2021 were searched for on five databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, and CINAHL Plus with Full Text. RESULTS: The current review identified nine relevant studies with a total of 4,509 adults and older adults. We found that sociodemographic were associated with HPL among both adults and older adults in the COVID-19 era. The findings also asserted that a nurse-led lifestyle intervention is an effective program for improving the self-efficacy and HPL of older adults with chronic illnesses. CONCLUSION: According to this review’s findings, individuals and healthcare professionals should consider the sociodemographic and social factors associated with HPL among adults and older adults, it is important to improve and standardize the guidelines for home-based services so that they can be used properly to help them deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and similar health crises.