Sociodemographic characteristics associated with the quality of life of the Elderly of the UNAN-Managua

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to describe the sociodemographic characteristics as an indicator  of the quality of life of the elderly in UNAN – Managua. The design was descriptive, cross-sectional. For this, the WHO instrument to measure quality of life and sociodemographic questionnaire were applied. According to sociodemographic characteristics, the older adult population was 56% male and 44% female, aged 60 to 78 years and older, with the most representative age group being 60 to 65 years old with 73%. 98% are from the urban area. 66% of older adults have a higher level of education. The predominant marital status is married with 57%. 37% of the population surveyed considered that their quality of life was "Pretty good"; 29% rated it as "Normal", the category of "Very good" was chosen by 27% of older adults surveyed, and "Fair", in which 7% of people considered their quality of life. Only 13% of the people surveyed belong to the subsidized regime. To evaluate the statistical relationship of the variables marital status and educational level with the qualification of their Quality of Life, consistency analysis, Pearson's Chi Square statistical test, were used, we concluded that there is dependency relationship between quality of life rating and  marital status (α < 0.05). In conclusion, the results of this study support the alternative hypothesis proposed, demonstrating a significant association between educational level and quality of life in older adults at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, considering that the educational level is a relevant factor in the evaluation and promotion of well-being in older adults.