Canada and Brazil. Health satisfaction older adults

The purpose of this study was to compare patterns of social factors explaining health satisfaction of older adults in selected regions of Canada and Brazil.

The study was a secondary analysis of data from two descriptive exploratory studies of quality of life of older adults in Canada and Brazil.

A secondary analysis of two data sets was conducted. The data sets included responses from 202 older adults from Canada and 288 older adults from Brazil. The Canadian data were collected in a mail survey of randomly selected older adults conducted in early 2004 and the Brazilian data were collected in a household survey in the fall of 2004. In both countries, instruments used in data collection were the short version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) and a demographic data sheet. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine predictors of health satisfaction in each of the samples. The independent variables were: age, gender, perceptions of access to health services, transport, social support, personal relationships, capacity for work, opportunities for leisure activities and enough money to meet needs. All indicators (except for age and gender) were taken from the WHOQOL-BREF instrument and were measured by a single global item on a five point Likert scale.

In the Canadian data set, it was found that perceptions regarding capacity to work and opportunities for leisure activities were significant predictors of health satisfaction. In Brazil, the significant predictors were perceptions of capacity to work and enough money to meet needs.

This study identifies some common social factors that explain health satisfaction, but many other variables thought to be important were not significant in these samples. Examination of social factors influencing health at the individual as well as societal level may help in planning interventions that enhance health and well-being of older adults.