Identifying Factors Influencing Perceived Quality of Life (QoL) of Indian Elderly: Case Study of Kolkata, India
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Identifying Factors Influencing Perceived Quality of Life (QoL) of Indian Elderly: Case Study of Kolkata, India Suparna Saha1,2 · Sanghamitra Basu2 · Debapratim Pandit2 Accepted: 6 September 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Well-being of the Indian elderly is presently a concern in the urban Indian society due to the gradual decline in the capacity of the family to serve as care-givers for their elderly members. Holistic improvement in the lives of the Indian elderly requires an understanding of the varied aspects which they perceive to influence their lives. The concept of perceived Quality of life (QoL) deals with an individual’s assessment of varied aspects influencing their well-being. Considering the role of social and economic backgrounds on the perception of QoL, this paper identifies the factors which the Indian elderly from varied backgrounds associate with their perceived QoL. Using interviews with 83 elderly residents of Kolkata, India, this paper identifies 58 factors for eight broad domains, which influence the perceived QoL of Indian elderly. The findings from the present research will help in the formulation of an index for measuring QoL, which can subsequently facilitate the preparation of policy guidelines for the improvement of QoL of elderly, especially the QoL of Indian elderly. Keywords Quality of life · Indian elderly · Elderly · Perceived QoL
1 Introduction Quality of Life (QoL) is a multi-dimensional concept encompassing a broad array of facets ranging from aspects of an individual’s health, psychological status, to the characteristics of an individual’s social and physical environment(Birren and Dieckmann 1991). Of various age groups of people, the elderly are more subjected to deteriorating health conditions, which leads to a decline in their level of independence, and social participation. * Suparna Saha [email protected] Sanghamitra Basu [email protected] Debapratim Pandit [email protected] 1
Department of Planning and Architecture, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India
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Department of Architecture and Regional Planning, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India
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Moreover, factors like death and illness of family members and friends lead to a decline in their social support. The elderly, who are observed to face increased vulnerability towards such physical and social diversities, often experience decline in their QoL (Bowling 2011). A study by Garstka et al. (2004) mentions previous research on social inequality which revealed that, in comparison to the middle aged adults, the elderly are more likely to face a sense of diminished social status, respect, influence and wealth. These perceived negative attributes that one associates with their membership to the old age group might lead to a perceived sense of age based discrimination, which in turn may have adverse impact on their perceived sense of self-esteem, sense of control, etc. (Garstka et al. 2004). The elderly tend to associate t
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