QUALITY OF LIFE AND SELF-CARE AGENCY ON OSTEOARTHRITIS PATIENTS

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this research was to deternine the self-care agency and quality of life of patients who were admitted to hospital at the Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Centre of a university hospital, with a diagnosis of osteoarthritis. Materials and Method: A total of 90 patients, aged 65 years old and over, and diagnosed with osteoarthritis, were included in this descriptive study. The data was collected through personal data forms designed by the researchers, the self-care agency scale, and the WHOQOL-Bref life quality scale. The data was evaluated using descriptive statistics, pearson correlation analysis, t-test and ANOVA variance analysis Results: It was found that there was a significant positive relationship between self-care agency and the quality of life in aged patients with osteoarthritis. There was a significant negative relationship between age, the duration of the disease and self-care agency and quality of life. The quality of life and self-care agency scores of the patients whose duration of disease were 1-5 year were higher. Conclusion: As the duration of disease and the age of the patients with osteoarthritis increases, self-care agency and the quality of life decreases.