Self-rated Health of Institutionalized Elderly in Kuala Lumpur

Aims: There is a growing number of institutionalized elderly in Malaysia. This group of elderly are commonly not included in population based surveys, thus little is known about their health and well-being. This study aims to determine the self-rated health of the elderly living in institutions and the associated factors.

Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014, in eight elderly institutions in Kuala Lumpur. The institutions were selected randomly, and the participants were selected through stratified proportionate sampling. A total of 203 residents participated in this study. Chi-square test was used for univariate analysis and binary logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis. P value less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results: The prevalence of poor self-rated health was 39.9%. Factors significantly associated with self-rated health included educational level (OR=2.1, 95%CI=1.18-3.74), physical activity (OR=0.4, 95%CI=0.22-0.81) outdoor leisure activity (OR=0.4, 95%CI= 0.21-0.82), visual impairment (OR=1.9, 95%CI= 1.06-3.52), chronic pain (OR= 2.4, 95%CI=1.35-4.27), diabetes (OR=1.9, 95%CI=1.03-3.49) heart disease (OR=4.2, 95%CI=1.25-13.74), renal failure (OR=11.5, 95%CI= 1.38-94.89), fall (OR=2.9, 95%CI= 1.28-6.48) hospitalization (OR=4.9, 95%CI= 2.43-9.86) co-morbidities (OR=3.2, 95%CI=1.30-761), and satisfaction with access to healthcare (OR=0.3 95%CI= 0.17-0.79).

Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of poor self-rated health among residents in these institutions. Factors significantly associated with self-rated health were mostly co-morbidities. There is need for interventions targeted at improving healthcare services and leisure activities for residents of these institutions.