Details
Category: Volume 10 Issue 04 April 2022
Hits: 599

Title: Social Networks and Support as an Indicator of Quality of Life: Evidence from Elderly Group in Osun State, Nigeria

Authors: Oluwaseun Lara Ariyo and Joel Faronbi

 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v10i4.02

Abstract

Background: Reductions in social network and support among the elderly have been found to be a predictor of low quality of life among them. This study was conducted to assess the influence of social network and support on the quality of life among the elderly in Osun State, Nigeria.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to Assess the level of the quality of life of the elderly in this population in Osun State, Nigeria.

Methods: The study employed a cross sectional design of 432 participants aged 60 and above, using a multistage sampling technique.A structured questionnaire was used to collect data.

Results: Findings from the study revealed that majority (47%) of the respondents had a moderate quality of life, 43% had high/good quality life and just 10% were observed to have had poor/low quality of life. Furthermore, the result shows the majority (61.4%) of the respondents had a high quality of life in the physical domain, 31.6% had a high quality of life in the psychological domain, more than half of the respondents (56.4%) had a moderate quality of life in the social relationship domain and 57.3% had a moderate quality of life in the environmental domain.

Conclusion: The study concluded that risk of depression, loneliness, social support and social network statistically significantly influenced the quality of life among the elderly in Osun State. as elderly persons have adequate social support and network, there would be a significant improvement in their quality of life.

References

  1. Abella, J. D., Lara, E., Valera, M. R., Olaya, B., Moneta, M. V., Alejandra, L. Maria, J. (2017). Loneliness and depression in the elderly : the role of social network. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 52(4), 381–390. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1339-3.
  2. Bahramnezhad, F., Chalik, R., Bastani, F., Taherpour, M., Navab, E., & Nursin C. C. (2017). The social network among the elderly and its relationship with quality of life. Electronic Physician, 9(5), 4306–4311. https://doi.org/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.19082/4306.
  3. Bélanger, E., Ahmed, T., Vafaei, A., Curcio, C. L., Phillips, S. P., & Zunzunegui, M. V. (2016). Sources of social support associated with health and quality of life : a cross-sectional study among Canadian and Latin American older adults. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011503.
  4. Bussche HV, Koller D, Olonko T, Hansen H, Wegscheide K. (2011). . Which chronic diseases and disease combinations are specific to multi morbidity in the elderly? Results of claims data based cross sectional study in Germany. BMC Public Health, 11: 101.
  5. Croezen, S., Avendano, M., Burdorf, A., & Lenthe, F. J. Van. (2015). Social Participation and Depression in Old Age : A Fixed-Effects Analysis in 10 European Countries. American Journal of Epidemiology,182(2),168-176. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwv015.
  6. Ebimgbo, S. O., Atama, C. S., Onalu, C. E., Obasi-Igwe, I. A., & Aghedo, G. U. (2021). Predictors of loneliness among older adults in south-eastern Nigeria: Implications for social workers. European Journal of Mental Health, 16(1), 3–19. https://doi.org/10.5708/EJMH.16.2021.1.1
  7. Fajemilehin B. R.& Odebiyi A. I. (2011).Predictors of elderly persons’ quality of life and health practices in Nigeria. International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology (Vol. 3). Retrieved from http://www.academicjournals.org/IJSA.
  8. Fakoya, O. A., McCorry, N. K., & Donnelly, M. (2020). Loneliness and social isolation interventions for older adults: A scoping review of reviews. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-8251-6.
  9. Fakoya, O. O., Abioye-Kuteyi, E. A., Bello, I. S., Oyegbade, O. O., Olowookere, S. A., & Ezeoma, I. T. (2018). Determinants of Quality of Life of Elderly Patients Attending a General Practice Clinic in Southwest Nigeria. International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 39(1), 3–7. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272684X18781781.
  10. Farzianpour F., Hosseini S.H., Rostami M., Pordanjani S.B, Hosseini S.M. (2015) Quality of life of the elderly residents. Am J Applied Sci; 9 (1): 71-74.
  11. Felce, D., & Perry, J. (1995). Quality of Life : Its Definition and Measurement, Elsevier Science, 16(1), 51–74.
  12. Fuller-iglesias, H. R., & Antonucci, T. C. (2016). Familism, Social Network Characteristics, and Well-being among Older Adults in Mexico.JCross Cult Gerontol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-015-9278-5.
  13. Garcia & Navarro (2018). The impact of Quality of Life on the health of the Older People from Multidimensional Perspective. Journal of ageing Research, ID 4086294
  14. Goyal, A., & Kajal, K. (2014). Prevalence of depression in the elderly population in the Southern part of Punjab. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 3, 359–361.
  15. Gustafsson, S., Berglund, H., Faronbi, J., Barenfeld, E., & Ottenvall, I. (2017). Minor positive effects of health-promoting senior meetings for older community-dwelling persons on loneliness, social network, and social support. Clin Interv Aging, 1867–1877. doi:10.2147/CIA.S143994.
  16. Heydari J, Rouhani S, Mohammadpour R.A. (2015) Aging populations’ quality of life: an emerging priority for the public health system in Iran. Life Science Journal 9 (4): 1304-09
  17. Igbokwe, C. C., Ejeh, V. J., Agbaje, O. S., Umoke, P. I. C., Iweama, C. N., & Ozoemena, E. L. (2020a). Prevalence of loneliness and association with depressive and anxiety symptoms among retirees in Northcentral Nigeria: A cross-sectional study. BMC Geriatrics, 20(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-020-01561-4
  18. Iyer, K., & Khan, Z. (2012). Depression – A Review. Research Journal of Recent Sciences, 1(4), 79–87.
  19. Khajebishak, Y., Payahoo, L., Pourghassem, G., B., Asghari, J.M. (2014). Assessing the Quality of Life in Elderly People and Related Factors in Tabriz, Iran. Journal of caring sciences. 3. 257-63. 10.5681/jcs.2014.028.
  20. Kim, H., Fredriksen-goldsen, K. I., Bryan, A. E. B., & Muraco, A. (2017). Social Network Types and Mental Health Among LGBT Older Adults. The gerontologist, 57, 84–94. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnw169
  21. Kim, H., Kwon, S., Hong, S., & Lee, S. (2018). Health behaviors influencing depressive symptoms in older Koreans living alone : secondary data analysis of the 2014 Korean longitudinal study of aging. BMC Geriatrics, 1–11.
  22. Lilian, D., Ranganath, T. S., & Thangaraj, S. (2015). Prevalence of depression among the elderly in an urban slum of Bangalore, a cross-sectional study. International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies, 2(3), 1–4.
  23. Maria, O., Gouveia, R., Matos, A. D., & Schouten, M. J. (2016). Social networks and quality of life of elderly persons: a review and critical analysis of literature. Bras. Geriatr. Gerontol, http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1981-22562016019.160017.
  24. Metelko, Z., Szabo, S., Diseases, M., Kumar, S., Delhi, N., Heck, V., … Oliver, J. (1995). The World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment (WHOQOL): position paper from the World Health Organization, Elsevier Science ,41(10).
  25. National Population Commission. (2003). Nigeria Population Census 1991 Analysis, 3: The Elderly.
  26. Oluwagbemiga, O. (2016). Effect of social support systems on the psychosocial well-being
  27. of the elderly in the people’s homes in Ibadan. J Gerontol Geriatr Res,5(5). https://doi.org/10.4172/2167-7182.1000343.
  28. Rico-uribe, L. A., Caballero, F. F., Olaya, B., Tobiasz-adamczyk, B., Koskinen, S., Leonardi, M., & Haro, J. M. (2016). Loneliness, Social Networks, and Health : A Cross-Sectional Study in Three Countries. Plos One, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0145264
  29. Subramaniam, M., Abdin, E., Sambasivam, R., Vaingankar, J. A., Picco, L., Pang, S., … Magadi, H. (2016). Prevalence of Depression among Older Adults — Results from the Well-being of the Singapore Elderly Study. Ann Acad Med Singapore, 45(4), 123–133.
  30. White, A. M., Philogene, G. S., Fine, L., & Sinha, S. (2009). Social Support and Self-Reported Health Status of Older Adults in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 99(10), 1872–1878. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2008.146894.
  31. World Health Organization, (2014). Depression and Other Common Mental Disorders Global Health Estimates.
  32. World Health Organization, (2018). Mental Health of Older adults.
  33. Yue, Keskinoglu, Ucku, Yener&Tunca (2016).Prevalence and risk factors of depression among community dwelling elderly. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics 59 (2014) 150–154.
  34. Yates, J. A., Clare, L., & Woods, R. T. (2017). “You’ve got a friend in me”: Can social networks mediate the relationship between mood and MCI? BMC Geriatrics, 17(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-017-0542-0.

Corresponding Author

Oluwaseun Lara Ariyo

Department of Nursing, Basic Medical Science Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria