Social capital associated with quality of life among late adults and elderly population in the Northeast of Thailand

Abstract

Background: Previous studies indicated that social capital (SC) has an influence on quality of life (QOL). However, there are limited studies on how SC might associate with QOL among late adults and elderly in Thailand. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,148 participants who were identified by multistage random sampling from 4 provinces in the Northeast of Thailand. A self – administered questionnaire was developed and used to assess cognitive social capital (CSC), structural social capital (SSC), accessibility to health services, and socioeconomic status (SES) and QOL. The Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) was used to determine the association between SC and QOL when controlling for other covariates. Results: Only 41.03% (95%CI: 38.17 to 43.94) of the participants had good QOL. About half (50.26%) had high level of CSC, whereas only 36.15% had high level of SSC. The multivariate analysis indicated that having high levels of CSC and SSC was associated with good QOL. Other factors that were associated with having good QOL were aged <60 years old, monthly income ≥15,000 baht, adequate income, adequate physical activity, lived in the municipality, and had high level of accessibility to health services. Conclusion : Less than half of late adults and elderly had good QOL and high level of SSC. About half had high level of CSC. Both CSC and SSC had influence on QOL as well as gender, age, monthly income, financial status, physical activity, residential area, and accessibility to health services.