Assessment of quality of life of elderly population residing in urban and urban slum area: A comparative study

Introduction: Ageing and urbanization are closely related. There are many possible ways in which the urban environment may influence the health and well-being of older residents. Indeed, older people may be particularly vulnerable to the influence of urban characteristics many aspects of urban living that affect the quality of life of older persons go beyond municipal boundaries. Objectives: 1. To assess and compare the quality of life of the study groups. 2. To suggest appropriate measures for promotion of health of elderly in urban & urban slum area. Material and Methods: A house to house interview was conducted among all randomly selected urban and urban slum area persons of age 60 yrs and above residing at least last six months with Pretested proform a containing details of health check-ups, Assessment Quality of Life Questionnaire (a tool for measurement of HR-QoL) and socio-demographic factors and standardized clinical materials. Observations: Total 153 from urban & 135 from urban slum were enrolled for the study. There was significant difference found in the ranking HR-QoL with sex, marital status and type of family distribution in both the areas. Conclusion: Ageing has profound effect on the individual status in the family, the work force, goals and organization of health, social services, policies and practices of the government. Age, gender, marital status, type of family and relationship dimension affects the Quality of life of elderly. Health is vital to maintain well being and Quality of Life of Aged population.