Abstract
According to the situation of COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, policies and strategic measures
managing the new normal restrictions may impact the quality of life, especially in the aging population.
This study aimed to monitor and compare the quality of life across different periods of the COVID-19
pandemic in older adults stratified by regions in Thailand. Participants comprised 400 older adults living
in provinces representing five regions in Thailand with a total number of 2,000 participants. The self-reporting
questionnaires were applied for data collection, including personal and health information and
the EQ-5D-5L quality of life Thai version (of high reliability 0.89). Descriptive statistics was utilized for
overall personal and health information, and one-way analysis of variance was performed to examine
the change of quality of life among different pandemic waves. Findings revealed that most of the
provinces reported a higher quality of life and satisfaction of health at the first wave of the pandemic
than others. The restriction policy decreased mobility in older people. Comparing each province, findings
displayed that older people in Samut Prakarn had lower quality of life than others, such as Phrae
province. It might be because Samut Prakarn province with high number of cases imposed a maximum
infection control under a high restriction policy, while Phrae province with fewer cases enforced less
restriction requirement. The findings on quality of life informed that the maximum infection control
policy which decreased physical activity and lowered quality of life in older adults. Remarkably, the
results of the present study showed that quality of life varied depending on pandemic waves and regions.
These findings provided useful information to healthcare personnel and policymakers in Thailand to
develop further plans and services for older people to cope with future pandemics properly.
