Analysis of quality of life and associated factors in a group of elderly persons with supplemental health plans in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Abstract Objective: To measure the Quality of Life (QoL) and associated factors in a group of elderly persons receiving care through a health plan operator in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 169 elderly persons enrolled in a health plan and who were participants in a program to promote health and prevent risks and diseases. The Bref and Old versions of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) instruments were adopted for the evaluation of the QoL of the elderly. After descriptive analysis, a comparative analysis was performed through the Student’s t-tests and ANOVA. The Brown-Forsythe test was applied for situations in which no homogeneity was found and the Tukey test for multiple comparisons was applied. Results: The highest mean QoL values were found in the Psychological [72.1 (±14.3)] and Environment [68 (±15.4)] and Intimacy [72.5 (±20.8)] domains, while the worst results were found in the Physical [64.3 (±18)] domain and in the Death and Dying facet [61.2 (±23.2)]. In this group, factors such as obesity, neoplasia and previous hospitalizations were negatively associated with QoL, whereas young elderly, female, widows, carriers of chronic non-communicable diseases and those limited to two morbidities, who practiced physical activity and had clinical care provided by a reference physician had a positive influence. Conclusion: The findings of this research showed high levels of satisfaction with health and QoL, in addition to raising relevant discussions about predictors that influence the QoL of the elderly receiving care from the supplementary sector. It also emphasizes the need for new strategies of action to ensure improvements in the health care of the elderly.