Community Care, Unnan City Hospital, 96-1 Iida, Daito-cho, Unnan 699-1221, Japan.
Department of Community Medicine Management, Faculty of Medicine, Shimane University, 89-1 Enya-cho, Izumo 693-8501, Japan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 May 30;19(11):6652. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19116652.
The COVID-19 pandemic has inhibited people's help-seeking behaviors (HSBs). In particular, older people in rural communities experienced limited access to medical care, which negatively affected their quality of life (QOL). Within HSB, self-management of mild symptoms may mitigate the difficulties experienced by older people in rural communities. However, few studies have examined the relationship between self-management and QOL. Therefore, we conducted a prospective cohort study to clarify this relationship. Our participants were over 65 years of age and lived in rural communities. QOL was measured with the EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L). Demographic data and QOL were collected from participants via questionnaires in 2021 and 2022. The exposure group showed a significantly greater change in EQ-5D-5L health status index scores than the control group ( = 0.002). In addition, the exposure group scored significantly lower than the control group on the EQ-5D-5L dimension "usual activities" in 2021 and on all dimensions in 2022. Thus, self-management of mild symptoms may improve QOL among older people in rural communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Educational interventions for this population regarding self-management could improve QOL for entire communities.
新冠疫情抑制了人们的求助行为（HSB）。特别是农村社区的老年人获得医疗服务的机会有限，这对他们的生活质量（QOL）产生了负面影响。在 HSB 中，对轻症的自我管理可能会减轻农村社区老年人所面临的困难。然而，很少有研究探讨自我管理与 QOL 之间的关系。因此，我们进行了一项前瞻性队列研究来阐明这种关系。我们的参与者年龄在 65 岁以上，居住在农村社区。QOL 采用欧洲五维健康量表 5 维度 5 水平（EQ-5D-5L）进行测量。2021 年和 2022 年，通过问卷收集参与者的人口统计学数据和 QOL。暴露组的 EQ-5D-5L 健康状况指数评分变化明显大于对照组（=0.002）。此外，暴露组在 2021 年的 EQ-5D-5L 维度“日常活动”和 2022 年所有维度上的得分均明显低于对照组。因此，新冠疫情期间，对轻症的自我管理可能会提高农村社区老年人的 QOL。针对该人群的自我管理教育干预措施可以提高整个社区的 QOL。
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