Prevalence of loneliness and its associated factors among elderly attending primary health clinics in Kuantan, Pahang.

Md Aris, Mohd Aznan and Abu Bakar, Anifah and Abdullah, Fa’iza and Mohd Rus, Razman (2021) Prevalence of loneliness and its associated factors among elderly attending primary health clinics in Kuantan, Pahang. In: Medical Research Symposium 2021, 14 December 2021, Kuantan, Pahang. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Introduction: Loneliness is very common in late stages of life. Previous studies showed that loneliness is associated with depression, sleep problems and suicidal ideation. There is limited data and studies regarding loneliness among elderly in Malaysia. The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of loneliness and its associated factors among elderly attending primary health clinics in Kuantan, Pahang. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in 4 selected primary health clinics in Kuantan. A total of 350 elderly aged 60 years and above were recruited. The data were collected by an interviewer administered questionnaire. A validated Malay version of 6-Item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale was used to measure loneliness. Descriptive statistics were used to measure the prevalence and logistic regression to identify factors associated with loneliness among elderly. Data were analysed using SPSS version 25.0. Results: About 97.1% were elderly and 2.9% were oldest old. Majority were female (69.1%), Malay (77.1%), married (62%), have at least 1 child (94.9%) and lives with children (65.1%). The prevalence of loneliness among elderly attending primary health clinics in Kuantan is 48%. This study showed that the oldest old (AOR: 9.099 CI: 1.086-76.237) and being single/widowed/divorced/separated (AOR 2.33 CI: 1.426-3.81) were significantly associated with loneliness, while co-residence with children is a protective factor for loneliness (AOR: 0.552 CI: 0.335-0.909). Conclusion: Loneliness is a modifiable health risk. Therefore, it is important to identify loneliness among elderly and intervene early

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Poster)
Additional Information:	4632/95542
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine R Medicine > RZ Other systems of medicine
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Medicine Kulliyyah of Medicine > Department of Community Medicine (Effective: 1st January 2011) Kulliyyah of Medicine > Department of Family Medicine (Effective: 1st January 2011)
Depositing User:	SR NUR FARHANA LATFI
Date Deposited:	30 Dec 2021 13:27
Last Modified:	30 Dec 2021 13:27
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/95542

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