engleski

PSYCHOLOGICAL CARE IN THE FUNCTION OF IMPROVING HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN OLDER AGE

As people live longer, quality of life becomes an important issue at the individual, family, and social policy levels. There is numerous research evidence that wellbeing is relevant to health and quality of life as people age (Steptoe, Deaton, & Stone, 2014). Life satisfaction, as an indicator of the person’s wellbeing, is one of the indicators of successful psychological adaptation in later life, when a person is usually faced with changes and losses: in health, physical and cognitive functioning, social engagement, and productive activities (Smith & Ryan, 2016 ; Schaie, 2016). There is a growing research evidence suggesting that life satisfaction may even be a protective factor in health maintenance, reducing the risk of chronic physical illness and promoting longevity, by way of positive emotions which promote a more active lifestyle and a motivation toward self-care (Carver, Scheier, & Segerstrom, 2010). The aim of this paper is to present some psychological dimensions of an individual and the psychosocial aspects of care for the elderly related to the health, quality and length of life in old age. In order to obtain answers to these questions, we have conducted several research on aging in Croatia, from which we can recommend several conclusions. Research on life satisfaction predictors in Croatia showed that the strongest predictor of better life satisfaction in the observed set of psychosocial variables was better self- perceived health. No differences in life satisfaction were found regarding the participants’ living environment, in residential institution or in own home. Also we found that combinations of multivariate analyses confirmed significant contribution of psychosocial variables to survival prediction in older adults. Implications are in the planning and adjustment of psychosocial care for future old persons to improve their quality of life.

older adults, psychological care, health, quality of life, survival

nije evidentirano