Investigation of the General Life Conditions of Elderly (Age 85 and Over) Living At Home in Province of Afyonkarahisar

Objective: This study was carried out to determine the general life conditions of elderly over 85 years old in Afyonkarahisar. Methods: It was interviewed with 813 elderly living in province of Afyonkarahisar. The number of elderly who agreed to participate to the survey was 722 (88.8%). By evaluating socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle, health status, disease status, physical status, drug use, presence of children, daily activities, and perceived social support of family and environment, associations were made. Results: More than half of elderly (58.7%) people lack primary education. Illiteracy rate of women was higher than that of men (p<0.001). Of the elderly 65% were female, 75.6% were divorced or their partner was died. The percentage of those who were married was reducing with increasing age, particularly in the population of >85 years. Additionally, the percentage of women that their partner had died was higher than men. The mean age and number of children were 88.5±3.4 years and 4.4±2.0, respectively. Of the elderly, 20.2% did not have any social security, and 54.6% had income less than expenses. The most widely used assistive devices were canes and wheelchairs. Of the elderly, 29.2% could not do their own personal care and 52.1% did not know how to use drugs. Near half of the elderly were completely dependent on others in making shopping, doing daily chores, tripping out of town and doing things out of home (paying bill, admitting to hospital alone, etc.). Conclusion: The majority of elderly had no knowledge about health care services at home. It was found that elderly could not do some daily household activities and any of outdoor activities in their own right.