Relationship between Quality of Life and Using Smart Phones in the Elderly

Aim(s): Aging is an important period of life, and attention to the issues and needs of this period is socially important because they can eclipse the quality of life of the elderly. Today, the use of cell phones especially smart cell phones among elderly has also increased. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between quality of life and the use of smart cell phones in the elderly. Instruments & Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 408 elderly people who were covered by the retirement center of Yazd in 2018. These subjects were selected using simple random sampling method. Data gathering tools included demographic questionnaire, cell phones status and internet usage and WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. The data analysis was performed by SPSS 18 software using Spearman correlation coefficient, Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis tests. Findings: The mean score for quality of life was 295.62±77.93. 90.2% of participants used cell phones. The quality of life components were significantly different based on gender, type of home, marital status, education level, income, having cell phone, duration and context of its use and who to live with elderly (p<0.05). Conclusion: There was a direct relationship between the quality of life and using cell phone, duration and context of its use that this interaction can be through the use of cell phones to raise awareness, communicate or entertain, or build more social relationships with family, relatives and peers.