2016, Volume 8, Issue 4

Healthy aging: Quality of life and health behaviours in students of the University of the Third Age – A preliminary study

Justyna Krzepota¹, Dorota Sadowska², Beata Florkiewicz<sup>1

1</sup>Department of Physical Culture and Health Promotion, University of Szczecin
²Department of Physiology, Institute of Sport-National Research Institute


Author for correspondence: Justyna Krzepota; Department of Physical Culture and Health Promotion, University of Szczecin; email: justyna.krzepota[at]univ.szczecin.pl

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Abstract

Background: The aim of the presented study was to analyse self-assessment of the quality of life and general health behaviours among the students of the University of the Third Age.

Material/Methods: The research was conducted on a sample of 81 persons (M = 62.6, SD = 6.1). The tool used for assessing the quality of life was the Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQoL-BREF, Polish version), and the methodological basis for investigating health behaviour was the Health Behaviour Inventory.

Results: The analysis conducted among all participants showed statistically significant positive correlations between the General Index of Intensity of Health Behaviours (GIIHB) and the quality of life in the Social Relationships domain (Rs = 0.232; p ≤ 0.05). Statistically significant positive correlations were also found between Positive Thinking in the Health Behaviour Inventory and two WHOQoL-BREF domains: the Psychological domain (Rs = 0.238; p ≤ 0.05) and the Social Relationships domain (Rs = 0.264; p ≤ 0.05).

Conclusions: The results of our research may prove very helpful in designing health promotion programs for an ageing society. Further longitudinal studies with a larger sample size are needed in order to identify more clearly the relationships that occur between health behaviours and the quality of life, especially in the process of ageing.

Key words: University of the Third Age, health behaviors, quality of life, elderly, aging