Social Activities and Health-Related Quality of Life in Rural Older Adults in South Korea: A 4-Year Longitudinal Analysis

JiYeon Choi, Kyeongra Yang, Sang Hui Chu, Yoosik Youm, Hyeon Chang Kim, Yeong-Ran Park and Youn-Jung Son
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JiYeon Choi: College of Nursing, Mo-Im Kim Nursing Research Institute, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea
Kyeongra Yang: School of Nursing, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07107, USA
Sang Hui Chu: College of Nursing, Mo-Im Kim Nursing Research Institute, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea
Yoosik Youm: College of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea
Hyeon Chang Kim: College of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University, 03722 Seoul, Korea
Yeong-Ran Park: Division of Silver Industry, Kangnam University, Gyeonggi-do 16979, Korea
Youn-Jung Son: Red Cross College of Nursing, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Korea

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 15, 1-18

Abstract: During later life, inadequate social interactions may be associated with worse quality of life in older adults. Rural older adults are prone to developing unhealthy lifestyles related to social activities, which can lead to a poorer quality of life than that enjoyed by older adults living in urban areas. This study aimed to describe longitudinal changes in social activity participation and health-related quality of life among rural older adults, exploring potential associations with changes to in-person social activity over four years. We used prospective community-based cohort data from the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (KSHAP) collected between December 2011 and January 2016. The sample included 525 older adults who completed the measure of health-related quality of life. Our results showed a significant change in health-related quality of life according to changes in participation in meeting with friends. Even though an individual’s participation in other social activities did not show significant differences in health-related quality of life, our findings imply that in-person social activities may be an important resource to encourage participation in physical activities and to develop other positive outcomes, such as a sense of belonging or satisfaction with later life, among rural older adults.

Keywords: aging; rural health; quality of life; social participation; longitudinal studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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