Evaluation of life satisfaction and functional fitness of people over 60 years of age living in a nursing home and home environment

• Main Authors: Ewa Kupcewicz, Teresa Wróblewska, Alina Kędzia, Iwona Wołosewicz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Continuo 2016-12-01
• Series: Family Medicine & Primary Care Review
• Subjects: satisfaction with life; functional fitness; resident
• Online Access: https://www.termedia.pl/Evaluation-of-life-satisfaction-and-functional-fitness-r-nof-people-over-60-years-of-age-living-in-a-nursing-home-r-nand-home-environment,95,28722,1,1.html

Background . Life satisfaction may refer to one’s life evaluation, social skills and engagement in life activities. Objectives . Evaluation of life satisfaction and functional fitness of people over 60 years of age living in a nursing home and home environment. Material and methods. A survey research was conducted at the turn of 2013 and 2014 in a group of 101 subjects over 60 years of age. This group comprised of 50 residents of the “Kombatant” nursing home in Ciechanow and 51 subjects staying in a home environment. In the research, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS ) and Barthel Scale were used. Results. Analysis of the results shows that the mean index of satisfaction with life among all subjects reached 20.7 ± 6.21 with a median of 23, which indicated an average level of satisfaction with life. In a home environment, 50.98% of the subjects reported a high level of satisfaction with life as compared to only 20% in the nursing home. As for evaluation of functional fitness, more than half of the subjects (53.47%) scored 21 to 85 points according to the Barthel Scale, and their condition was determined as “moderate to severe”. A high positive correlation (r = 0.7) was also observed between the functional state described as “moderate to severe” among the subjects staying in a home environment and their satisfaction with life. Conclusions . In the researched group, the level of satisfaction with life varied, with lower results among the residents of the nursing home, whereas for those living in a home environment, functional fitness was the key factor in its determination.