The Relationships between Cognitive Abilities, Health Literacy Related to Dementia, and Quality of Life among Older Adults Living in Health Region 6
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Abstract
The quality of life of the elderly is related to various factors and may be different according to the region they live. The purposes of this research were 1) to explore the cognitive impairment situations, health literacy related to dementia, and quality of life among older adults living in health region 6, and 2) to examine the relationships between cognitive abilities, health literacy related to dementia, and quality of life. The participants were composed of 375 older adults purposively selected from those who received health care services at the health-promoting hospitals. The research instruments included the Risk of Dementia Assessment Form, Dementia Health Literacy Questionnaire, and Elderly Quality of Life Questionnaire. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of them were .99, .92, and .84, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics as well as Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to test the correlations among the factors. The results of this study showed that 26.9% of the participants had mild cognitive impairment and 11.7% had dementia. Their health literacy related to dementia mean score was at a moderate level, while their mean score of quality of life score was at a high level. Concerning the correlations, it was found that cognitive abilities had a low positive relationship with health literacy related to dementia as well as with quality of life. Additionally, health literacy related to dementia also had a low positive relationship with elderly quality of life. According to this study, it indicates that in overall, the elderly in Health Region 6 or the Eastern Region of the country have a good quality of life. Nevertheless, approximately one in four elderly people has mild cognitive impairment, and one in 10 has dementia. Such mental impairments may impact on quality of life of the elderly in the future. Thus, for developing effective interventions to promote quality of life of the elderly, health personnel should consider such related factors.
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บทความและรายงานวิจัยในวารสารพยาบาลกระทรวงสาธารณสุข เป็นความคิดเห็นของ ผู้เขียน มิใช่ของคณะผู้จัดทำ และมิใช่ความรับผิดชอบของสมาคมศิษย์เก่าพยาบาลกระทรวงสาธารณสุข ซึ่งสามารถนำไปอ้างอิงได้
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