Factors influencing the quality of life (Qol) among thai older people in a rural area of Thailand

Background: the population prevalence of older people has been growing worldwide. quality of life (qol) among older people is a significant public health concern. hence,this study aimed to assess level of qol and factors influenc-ing qol among rural thai older people. methods: the study was undertaken in phayao province where is one of the top ten provinces with the highest index of thai aging. a district in this province was purposively selected to be the study area and the quota-sampling tech-nique was used for sample collection,totally 400 older people participated according to taro yamane. the whoqol-old was employed to interview elderly qol. multivariate linear regression was performed to determine the factors influencing qol among the older people. results: over two-thirds of older people (68.5%) had qol at fair level. the vast majority (96%) had high scores for activity daily living (adl). approximately one-fifth (20.5%) reported current smoking and 31.7% reported ever drinking during previous year. following univariate analysis,nine factors–gender,age,education,working,income,present illness,drinking,adl,and participating in elderly club were identified as being significantly associated with qol (p <0.05). multivariate analysis revealed four factors predictive of qol among elderly: adl,income,alcohol drinking,and present illness (p < 0.01). conclusion: physical function,health status and financial were the predictor of qol among elderly. noticeably,drinking was one predictive factor of qol but only among moderate drinkers. hence,healthy life style should be con-sidered as key areas in attempts to promote qol among elderly people. © 2015,iranian journal of public health. all right reserved.