Physical Disability and Its Effective Factors in the Elderly of Khalkhal City

Background: Aging is considered as one of the crucial stages of human development; it is not only the end of life but also is a normal and natural process. The disability is among the consequences of the elderly, which affects the whole process of aging. The present study aimed to determine the rate of physical disability and its effective factorsin the elderly in Khalkhal city in 2017. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 400 elderly people who referred to Khalkhal health centers, using convenience random sampling. The data collection tool was a short version of the disability scale of the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ 8-item DI). Result: Our study showed that the total disability score in the elderly was 2.56 ± 5.24 (2.69 ± 5.40 in men and 2.41 ± 5.06 in women). Also, there was a significant relationship between disability score and age, illness history, the frequency of hospitalization, the perception of health, number of children, current occupation, and lifestyle (P-value<0.05). Conclusion: The overall findings of this study indicated the high rate of disability among the elderly in Khalkhal city. Further, men are more likely than women to experience a disability. Therefore, the use of preventive and contributing measures for national aging health programs can improve the quality of life of the elderly.

Keywords:

Elderly , Physical Disability , Effective Factors