Engagement in activity of interest and quality of life amongst institutionalized elderly people in Malaysia

Pages: 165-171
Akehsan Dahlan and Syamsul Anwar Sultan Ibrahim (Universiti Teknologi Mara, Selangor, Malaysia)

The objective of this study is to investigate pattern of engagement in activity of interest amongst elderly people in institution and its contributions towards quality of life (Qol). In this concurrent embedded mixed methodology, a survey using WHO QoL-Bref and interest checklist was conducted to 82 elderly people and focus groups was conducted to 20 participants to investigate the ideographic experience relating to QoL. Occupational deprivation exists in the institution; however, the scores in WHO QoL-Bref are considerably high. This indicates that disability paradox exist in the institutions. The high scores in WHO QoL-Brefcan be explains as a result of meaningful social relationship and personal attributes of the participants’ such as the demographic characteristics, experience in life, cultural values, personal belief and reason for relocation Health professionals should consider these factors when designing a programme to facilitate QoL