What accounts for quality of life among older adults? Examining chronic physical health, mental health, and social support among ethnically diverse populations in Ghana

Older adults have reduced income and chronic health problems that cause adverse quality of life outcomes. Social support also affects quality of life but there is not enough research that explains how interactions among these predictors affect older adults' quality of life. To address this gap, we tested whether social support moderated the effect of mental health and chronic physical health on a multidimensional quality of life measure, comparing groups selected from three ethnically distinct communities in Ghana. We selected older adults who were at least 60 years old from three geographic/ethnic areas and administered the WHO multidimensional quality of life scale, geriatric mental status and social support (N = 353). The research findings showed that as individuals grow older their scores on all dimensions of the quality of life decreased. We also found that there were geographic differences in quality of life; the least urbanized and the most urbanized communities had poorer outcomes on all dimensions of quality of life. We also found that higher levels of depression were associated with lower quality of life. Finally, the research findings implied that lower levels of social support moderated the effect of mental health on past, present, and future activities and social participation.