Quality of life of older people with dementia in Thailand

Abstract

© 2020, Walailak University. All rights reserved. The quality of life (QOL) of older people with dementia may depend on their care environment. This cross-sectional descriptive study aims to investigate the QOL of Thai older people with dementia in homes for the aged and those living in their own homes in the community, as well as the discrepancy between the QOL rated by the older people and by caregivers. The samples included 342 participants who met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using the Quality of Life-Alzheimer’s Disease Scale (QOL-AD) and the EuroQol 5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) Questionnaire Thai Version Scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t test, and Pearson’s correlation. The findings revealed that the overall QOL scores of participants in both groups were at a moderate level. Compared with participants in homes for the aged, those living in the community showed higher scores in 7 aspects of QOL-AD, including physical health, energy, living situation, memory, self as a whole, ability to do chores, and ability to make life fun, but lower scores in the aspects of family/members and marriage/closed persons. Self-rated and caregiver-rated scores were significantly different in the aspects of living situation, memory, relationship with family, and marriage/closed persons. The findings imply that health care professionals can also assess the QOL of older people with dementia through self-rating. Further research to find the most effective method for enhancing older peoples’ QOL is needed.