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Revista Cuidarte
Print version ISSN 2216-0973On-line version ISSN 2346-3414
Abstract
SOUSA, Fabianne de Jesus Dias de et al. Quality of Life in Older Adults in Brazil and Portugal: A Comparative Analysis. Rev Cuid [online]. 2021, vol.12, n.1, e1230. Epub May 19, 2021. ISSN 2216-0973. https://doi.org/10.15649/cuidarte.1230.
Introduction
Longevity is one of the greatest achievements in the last half of the 20th century.
Objective
To compare the quality of life in older adults in Brazil and Portugal receiving primary health care.
Materials and Methods
A comparative cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted with a probability sample of 294 older adults, who had been assisted with the Family Health strategy, being divided into two groups: 130 older adults living in Benevides, Brazil and 164 in Coimbra, Portugal during 2015 and 2017. The sociodemographic characterization and the quality of life assessment were determined through the WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF), which consists of 26 questions assessing four domains: physical health, psychological health, social relationships and environment. The Mann-Whitney U test was applied for comparative statistical analysis.
Results
There was a prevalence of married, retired women with a lower level of education (1 to 4 years) in the groups. The average age was 70 years in Brazil and 76 years in Portugal. In terms of quality of life, Brazilian older adults got better scores in the psychological health domain (79.1%) while Portuguese older adults scored best in the environmental domain (65.6%). The lowest scores were found in the environmental domain in Benevides (56.3%) and in the physical health domain in Coimbra (60.7%).
Discussion
Quality of life in aging is a major predictor for the preservation of autonomy in older adults.
Conclusion
These results help to broaden the importance of comprehensive care in the aging process to provide a better quality of life, which contributes to meeting the specific needs of older population.
Keywords : Quality of Life; Health of the Elderly; Healthy Aging; Cross-cultural Comparison.