Factors Affecting Quality of Life among the Elderly in Long-Term Care Hospitals

Abstract

Background There are challenges in sustaining person-centered care in aged care settings. Key related issues of concern such as quality of life among the older people in long-term care hospitals and interactions with nursing staff have been described previously. Purpose This study was designed to explore the factors affecting quality of life among older people living in long-term care hospitals in South Korea. Methods Older adult patients (N = 202) in three long-term care hospitals completed measures of cognitive functions, depression, care dependency, and interactions between nurse and patient and a quality-of-life assessment tool. Univariate analyses were used to examine the relationships among these variables, and a multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore the extent to which these variables predicted quality of life in these patients. Results The significant factors associated with quality of life were found to be cognitive functions (r =.373, p