Quality of Life of Older Adults with Physical and Mobility Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in Thailand

Abstract

Suffering during events such as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens the quality of life (QoL) of older adults with physical and mobility disabilities. This study aims to determine the QoL of older Thai adults with such disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and its predictor. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 360 older adults with physical and mobility disabilities. Data were collected by structured interview questionnaires. Data analyses comprised Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. The mean age of the participants was 73.52 years; a total of 58.6% of them were female and 97.8% had completed only primary education. More than half of them had a moderate QoL (63.3%). Self-esteem, age, and perception of the benefits of disability were found to be associated with the participants’ QoL (p < 0.05) and capable of predicting it with 54.7% accuracy. As self-esteem and the perception of the benefits of disability were found to be indicators of the QoL of older adults with physical and mobility disabilities, the healthcare providers of such older adults should organize activities that could enhance their self-esteem and the perception of the benefits of disability to improve their QoL, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.