Quality of life of older patients attending a general hospital in Baghdad/Iraq

Background: The older population in Iraq is under researched and studies about quality of life (QoL) are not available. The attitude of older people towards their QoL is individualistic and can be influenced by cognitive and emotional factors within the social and cultural context. Objectives: To assess the QoL of a group of 60+years old outpatients and identify its association with socio-demographic and clinical variables Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 consenting male and female outpatients in Medical City Hospital, Baghdad 2019, through a direct interview using the Arabic modified version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHO-QOL-BREF). The association of QoL with the socio-demographic and clinical variables were tested. Data were statistically analyzed using tools for the mean score, variance analysis, t-test, and chi-square test. The results were discussed accordingly. Results & Conclusion: The participants' mean age was 67.2 +/- 6.3 years, with a comparable male to female ratio. Most of the patients were married, educated, financially independent. Chronic medical disorders affected around half of the patients, 15% of them had psychiatric disorders. More than half of the patients showed a moderate (acceptable) level of subjective satisfaction with their QoL. The QoL was significantly affected by the gender, level of education, occupation, socioeconomic status, and with joint and respiratory problems. This study emphasized the decisive role of family confinement, social support, and autonomy in promoting QoL and mitigating the adverse effect of aging through adaptation and resilience. Future studies are called for to fill the data gap and help in developing better health and a social care system for older people in Iraq.