Home and family situations, satisfaction with life, employment and health status, and availability and use of health care services all have an impact on quality of life. A recent study conducted in five countries (Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, and the USA) of 900 elderly people in each country living at home disclosed the following information.
Many older persons live alone. The percentage is highest in Germany at 46%, followed by 40% in Canada, 34% in Britain, and 31% in the USA. In these four countries, 70% of elderly persons reported visiting or being visited by a family member within the previous week. In Japan, most older persons live with their families; only 10% live alone. Interestingly, in Japan, adult children often live in their parents’ home rather than vice versa. In all five countries, most of the elderly have close-knit families, and > 80% have children who are still alive.
Life satisfaction is high, with 61% of older Americans and 58% of Canadians (compared with 49% of Britons, 40% of Germans, and 28% of Japanese) describing themselves as very satisfied with life. Japan has the highest percentage (28%) of those still employed after age 65, compared with 3% of those in Germany.
Maintaining independence is rated as highly important in all five countries. If they were to become disabled by stroke or another serious illness, most elderly persons would prefer to remain at home: 71% of Americans, 69% of Britons, 59% of Germans, 51% of Canadians, and 48% of Japanese expressed this desire. However, in case of severe disability, < 10% of all respondents want to receive long-term care from a family member.
Satisfaction with health care services was expressed by 55% of elderly Canadians, 45% of Americans, and only 19% of Japanese. However, elderly persons in the USA were the only group to express significant apprehension as to the cost of health care. While < 5% of older persons in Britain, Canada, Germany, and Japan thought that the cost of health care was the most serious threat to their well-being, 27% of Americans expressed this concern.
