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Quality of life and its association among older people in rural Vietnam

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Abstract

Despite the growing number of older people, less attention is given to their quality of life (QOL) in developing countries, including Vietnam. This study aimed to assess the QOL and identify associated factors among older people in rural Vietnam. A cross sectional study was conducted among 406 older people (≥ 60) in Thai Binh, Ha Noi, using a validated questionnaire for an older Vietnamese population. Independent t test, ANOVA, and multiple linear regression were used in data analysis with significant value of 0.05. Mean QOL among the older adults was 235.6 ± 24.3. Total QOL score was above moderate; the highest score was found in psychology and social relationship domains and the lowest found in religious practice domain. Multiple linear regression revealed that being female, older age, living alone, and having chronic disease were negatively associated with QOL, while higher education was positively associated with QOL. The findings of the study showed that there was differentiation of QOL among older adults in the study setting. Especially for the sample population, actions should be made to improve QOL among older people, particularly for those over 80 years of age, women, lower education, living alone, and having chronic disease.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Tien Hai People’s Committee and General Hospital for their support in the data collection process. We also thank the participants who took part in this study. Lastly, we would like to thank Mr. Erik Hookom for his proofreading.

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Correspondence to Thang Tien Nguyen.

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Nguyen, T.T., Le, N.B., Vu, L.H. et al. Quality of life and its association among older people in rural Vietnam. Qual Quant 53, 131–141 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-018-0739-0

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