Factors associated with the quality of life and condition of loneliness of the population aged 65 and older in Burdur

408 people representing 35.563 people aged 65 and over were included into the scope of this cross-sectional type of study which aims determining the quality of life and condition of loneliness of the population aged 65 and over in Burdur. The questionnaire form intended for determining of factors that could affect the quality of life and condition of loneliness, "The World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL-OLD TR Short)" and "UCLA-LS Loneliness Scale" were used as data source. The data of the study was collected by home visits, face to face interviews with those who scored 24 and above in the Mini Mental Test (MMT) and evaluated by t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Linear regression analysis. Elderly's WHOQOL-OLD Quality of Life score mean is 68.34 ± 12.25 and loneliness score mean is 32.92 ± 11.43. One fourth of the elderly live alone, half live with their spouse and one with relatives. 94,8% of them have at least one chronic disease. The most common encountered symptoms / conditions in descending order are impaired vision, urgency, urinary incontinence and hearing problems. One out of four elderly people has disability. Elderly person's being old woman, having not received formal education, living income insufficiency, unwilling to go to the day care center, not going on vacation, shopping's being done by someone else, having poor-diminishing appetite, being still, having hearing problem, having a disabled report, feeling unhappy and being alone adversely affects life quality. Elderly's dwelling on living in a senior center, not doing any work other than watching TV and doing housework, not going on vacation, being still, having hearing problem and feeling unhappy desperate affect the loneliness level negatively. Within the frame of the results obtained from the study; in order to increase the elderly's life quality and decrease the level of the loneliness the old age period should be planned by the home visits which will be done. Not only geriatric, but also with a gerontological approach, health and social services should be given integratedly. Preventive health services and active aging which will reduce the burden of chronic disease should be prioritized, 1, 2 and 3 level health services integration should be ensured. Elderly friendly urban practices should be actualized. It is considered that care insurance's urgently being put into practice in order to improve the quality of life of and reduce the loneliness of the elderly will be appropriate.