Cent Eur J Nurs Midw 2011, 2(2):211-218

Chronic disease and quality of life of elder Romani population

Michaela Dingová

Institute of Nursing, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in Bratislava

Aim: In this project we focused on assessing the quality of life in the oldest representatives of the Romani minority, especially in terms of chronic disease, which is associated with survival discomfort.

Methods: For the perception of the impact of selected variables on quality of life of the oldest members of the Romani minority, we used standardized questionnaires WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-OLD. We obtained information on health profile of participants from the interview, which corresponds to the structure component of the revised Model symptom management.

Results: The presence of discomfort was a significant factor in reduced quality of life assessment in some partial areas (domains), namely physical health, surviving, autonomy, past, present and future activities, social participation, as well as in the overall profile of quality life WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-OLD. In the social area of quality of life that corresponds with the availability of content and satisfaction with social support, respondents achieved similar scores in both groups, regardless of the severity of the disease. Value achieved scores also suggests that satisfaction in social and interpersonal relationships contribute to maintaining the highest ratio of quality of life in the investigated sample.

Conclusion: The severity of the disease in the elder Romani population has direct negative impact on quality of life assessment. The findings are in many cases affected by the living conditions and cultural specifics of the Romani ethnicity.

Keywords: Romani population of older adults and elderly, chronic disease, quality of life, WHOQOL

Published: September 30, 2011  Show citation