Influence of Gerontology Services on the Physical and Psychological Health of Elderly in the City of Zagreb.

BACKGROUND

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines the quality of life as an individual perception of personal position in the cultural and social system within an individual's environment. Elderly people, in general, prefer to live in their own home as much as possible, and moving means for them losing social relationships, changing routines and lifestyles and losing independence. The research aimed to gain insight into the use of gerontology services for the elderly people, their availability, diversity of information, a range of services they provide, and impact of these services on quality of life.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

The study population is defined as persons residing in Zagreb, 65 years of age or older, with no physical disability or severe bodily, cognitive or mental illnesses who are users of the gerontology center. The survey was conducted using a customized questionnaire survey on a total sample of 103 respondents.

RESULTS

The most significant number of respondents, since they use the facilities, feel satisfied (68%) and very satisfied (28.2%) in their life. More than half of the participants (52.4%) rated their quality of life as very good and excellent, 46.6% of respondents rated their quality of life as good. Issues that effect on quality of life point to the dissatisfaction of the respondents are their financial resources, inadequate health services, and the lack of a positive social network.

CONCLUSIONS

Community services, such as gerontology centers, enable social network development, new learning, physical activity, which have an impact on physical and psychological health and thus on the quality of life of elderly people. The satisfaction of the respondents using these services was rated above the average (3.71), which indicates that the society is moving in the right direction, encouraging this form of care for the elderly.