Healthy ageing: Assessment of health-promoting lifestyle among the elderly population in Karachi Pakistan

BACKGROUND: The growth in the elderly population is predicted to expand exponentially and developing countries like Pakistan have about two-third of the global elderly population. It is vital to maintain the health of the elderly aged population to reduce disabilities and health-care cost. AIM: This study aimed to determine the health promotion practices among the older aged population in Pakistan and to explore the factors associate with adopting healthy lifestyle practices. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study spanning from 2019 to 2020 conducted on 317 participants of age more than 60 years in Pakistan. The participants included healthy attendants of patients visiting the outpatient clinics of different disciplines in the Liaquat National Hospital Karachi through purposive sampling technique. The health-promoting practices were assessed using Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II Questionnaire. The factors that determined the healthy practices among the elderly population were identified using independent t-test and analysis of variance and Tukey test, with a significance level of P < 0.05. IBM SPSS Statistics 22 was used for data entry and analysis. RESULTS: The highest subscale was detected from interpersonal relationships and spiritual growth. The lowest score was detected from physical activity. The scores differed significantly by occupation, education, and the marital status of the participants. Females, unmarried people, those who were less educated, and participants relying on others for financial support had lower health-promoting lifestyle scores. CONCLUSION: The overall health-promoting practices were good among the old-aged population of Pakistan. These practices differed particularly for physical activity, spiritual growth, and interpersonal relationships.