Factors associated with quality of life in elderly hospitalised patients undergoing post-acute rehabilitation: a cross-sectional analytical study in Switzerland

OBJECTIVES We investigated whether biopsychosocial and spiritual factors and satisfaction with care were associated with patients' perceived quality of life. DESIGN This was a cross-sectional analytical study. SETTING Data were collected from inpatients at a postacute geriatric rehabilitation centre in a university hospital in Switzerland. PARTICIPANTS Participants aged 65 years and over were consecutively recruited from October 2014 to January 2016. Exclusion criteria included significant cognitive disorder and terminal illness. Of 227 eligible participants, complete data were collected from 167. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Perceived quality of life was measured using WHO Quality of Life Questionnaire-version for older people. Predictive factors were age, sex, functional status at admission, comorbidities, cognitive status, depressive symptoms, living conditions and satisfaction with care. A secondary focus was the association between spiritual needs and quality of life. RESULTS Patients undergoing geriatric rehabilitation experienced a good quality of life. Greater quality of life was significantly associated with higher functional status (rs=0.204, p=0.011), better cognitive status (rs=0.175, p=0.029) and greater satisfaction with care (rs=0.264, p=0.003). Poorer quality of life was significantly associated with comorbidities (rs=-.226, p=0.033), greater depressive symptoms (rs=-.379, p<0.001) and unmet spiritual needs (rs=-.211, p=0.049). Multivariate linear regression indicated that depressive symptoms (β=-0.961; 95% CIs -1.449 to 0.472; p<0.001) significantly predicted quality of life. CONCLUSIONS Patient perceptions of quality of life were significantly associated with depression. More research is needed to assess whether considering quality of life could improve care plan creation.