Healthy behaviors and quality of life of disabled elders using home care services during the COVID-19 pandemic

ObjectivesQuality of life (QoL) is a significant health outcome for the older adults, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The demand for health care from older adults who use home care services often increases sharply due to a lack of healthy behaviors, which harms their QoL to various degrees. Thus, this study aimed to examine the predictors of the QoL of disabled older adults using home care services during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA cross-sectional survey study was conducted. A total of 214 older adults were collected from five home care support centers in the central region of Taiwan from October 1, 2021, to July 8, 2022.ResultsStepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the health promotion of healthy behavior (11.9%), financial status (8.6%), activities of daily living (4.5%), community care services (3.5%), and could explain 28.5% of the variance in predicting the overall QoL.DiscussionMaintaining health-promoting behaviors, having a better financial status, engaging in suitable activities of daily life level, and receiving daycare services could effectively improve the QoL.