A Baseline Investigation of Independence among 100 Community-Dwelling Centenarians in Turkey
Professor Dr. Ismail Tufan, Cağlar Arslaner; Professor Dr. Terence Seedsman; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mithat Durak; Professor Dr. Bernd Seeberger

Abstract
This research reports on selected baseline data from 100 community-dwelling centenarians across seven provincial regions in Turkey. Data collection resulted from the deployment of a non-probability linear snowballing sampling technique. The independence of the centenarians was explored across 15 activities of daily living utilizing the Barthel Index-Activities of Daily Living (modified). Open-ended questions were put to subjects concerning their will-to-live, belief in the afterlife, level of contentment with life including family care, and fear of death. Findings indicate that more than 50% of the 100 subjects rated poorly on 10 of the 15 activities of daily living with 79 subjects requiring assistance with daily care. Only 42 subjects responded to the open-ended questions revealing a positive regard for family care, a measure of ambiguity surrounding contentment with life and a low will-to-live. Ongoing research efforts will be required by Turkey in order to understand the health status and functional performance of centenarians.

Full Text: PDF