Zhou Zhiheng, Wang Caixia, Yang Huajie, Wang Xiang, Zheng Chanjiao, Wang Jiaji
School of Public Health, Guangzhou Medical University, 195 Dongfeng Xi Road, Guangzhou 510182, China.
Department of Internal Medicine, Guangzhou First People's Hospital Affliated to Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510180, China.
Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:192376. doi: 10.1155/2014/192376. Epub 2014 May 18.
The aim of this study was to examine health-related quality of life (HRQL) as measured by SF-36 and to identify these factors and the preferred health-seeking institutions of 12,800 persons aged 60 and older with and without chronic conditions in rural areas of Guangdong Province by multistage stratified cluster sampling method. HRQL among rural elderly subjects with chronic conditions was lower than that of elderly subjects with no chronic conditions. Multiple linear regression showed that marital status, living with children, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, cataract disease, and mental disease were the main affecting factors of HRQL. The main preferred health-seeking institutions selected by the rural elderly were community/town health service institutions, district hospitals, or secondary hospitals. Our findings indicate that the elderly in rural areas of Guangdong Province have a poor HRQL and incorrect health-seeking pathway. The healthcare policymakers should emphasize the need of developing effective and targeted community services strategies to improve the elderly individuals' HRQL in rural areas of China.
本研究旨在通过多阶段分层整群抽样方法，对广东省农村地区12800名60岁及以上患有和未患有慢性病的老年人，采用SF-36量表测量其健康相关生活质量（HRQL），并确定这些老年人的影响因素以及他们首选的就医机构。患有慢性病的农村老年受试者的HRQL低于无慢性病的老年受试者。多元线性回归显示，婚姻状况、与子女同住、心血管疾病、骨质疏松症、白内障疾病和精神疾病是HRQL的主要影响因素。农村老年人首选的就医机构主要是社区/乡镇卫生服务机构、区医院或二级医院。我们的研究结果表明，广东省农村地区的老年人HRQL较差，就医途径不正确。医疗保健政策制定者应强调制定有效且有针对性的社区服务策略的必要性，以改善中国农村地区老年人的HRQL。
