(Please support our advertisers by clicking on the ads. Thanks) Researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), studying multi-cultural residents at San Francisco's On Lok Lifeways program, concluded that quality of life for disabled elderly people is most closely tied to two factors: a sense of dignity and a sense of autonomy. Said lead author Jennifer King, MD: "Because of disability, not all of them are able do to all activities on their own, but they want to feel they have some say in how those activities progress throughout the day." These seniors, average age of 78, rated their quality of life higher than some might assume it would be for older people with disabilities. "As the number of elders from diverse backgrounds with late life disability increases, we need to learn how to assess their quality of life, and develop an assessment scale that will adequately reflect what they tell us is important," s! aid King. Four areas were considered important to their quality of life: physical (eg, pain), psychological (eg, depression), spiritual or religious (eg, religious coping), and social (eg, life-space). Dignity and a sense of control were identified as themes that are the most closely tied to overall quality of life. On Lok is a model community so it is not clear if seniors there enjoy a better quality of life overall. That said, isn't this all logical? Who doesn't want dignity and autonomy? And that
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