Determining the quality of life of the elderly living in Turkey and Iraq, and the associated intercultural differences

Background: The overall life expectancy of individuals has risen worldwide. Quality of life can be influenced by many factors, including economic and health status, way of life, and balanced diet. Aim: The study aims to measure the quality of life of the elderly living in Turkey and Iraq, to determine the factors that affect the quality of life, and to make comparisons between the two countries. Methods: The comparative study was carried out in the period January 2020 to January 2021 to compare the quality of life of the elderly in Iraq and Turkey. The study was carried out in two countries, Iraq and Turkey. In Iraq, the researcher completed questionnaires with 100 community-dwelling elderly. The elderly people consisted of those who resided in the city of Babylon, Iraq. The researcher, together with his advisor, surveyed 100 elderly people accessible residing in the district and center of Çankırı province in Turkey. Interviews were held face-to-face. The Elderly Information Form designed by the researchers and the WHOQOL-OLD scale was applied to participants consisting of elderly people in both countries. Results: Factors affecting the quality of life and differences between the two countries were identified. There were significant relationships between the quality of life of elderly Iraqis with age, gender, marital status, education, economic status, chronic diseases, disability, medication, eating healthily, exercise, and spiritual status. There were significant relationships between the quality of life of the elderly in Turkey with economic status, chronic diseases, eating healthily, exercise, and spiritual status. Conclusion: The quality of life of the elderly in Turkey was higher than in Iraq. Key Words: Country, Intercultural differences, Elderly, Quality of life.