Addressing the Gender Divide: Quality of Life and Social Support for Older Men and Women in Rural India

Objectives: This study investigated gender disparity in quality of life (QOL) and social support among older adults in West Bengal, India. Methods: The study was conducted among 200 older people. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and the MSPSS scale were used to measure the respondents' QOL and social support, respectively. Bivariate correlation and binary logistic regression were performed. Result: This study showed that being female (AOR: 2.53; CI: 1.32-4.86), low social support (AOR: 5.18; CI: 1.98-13.57), moderate social support (AOR: 4.17; CI: 2.05-8.49), functionally impaired (AOR: 2.25; CI: 1.04-4.86), and being widowed (AOR: 2.95; CI: 1.29-6.73) were significantly associated with poorer QOL of older adults. The interaction effect showed that the QOL of older men would experience a greater improvement than that of older women as a result of increased social support. Conclusion: Due to inadequate research on the relationship between QOL and social support with special emphasis on gender in India, this study will provide insight for planning interventions to improve older individuals' QOL.