Introduction.

Colorectal cancer is considered a serious public health problem, especially in the elderly, and a challenge for healthcare systems.

Objective:

To identify the overall health-related quality of life and by dimensions, epidemiological and treatment characteristics in elderly people with colorectal cancer treated at the Teaching Polyclinic, Héroes del Moncada.

Methods:

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in the period 2019-2021. Thirty-one older adults with colorectal cancer were included. Variables such as age, sex, marital status, schooling and treatment, quality of life, global and by dimensions were studied. The WHOQoL-Bref instrument of the World Health Organization, validated in Cuba, was applied. Summary measures were used for qualitative variables such as percentage; for quantitative variables the average and standard deviation were used.

Results:

51.6 % of the patients studied were between 70 and 79 years of age, women represented 61.3 % and patients with surgical treatment 96.8 %. Physical and psychological health dimensions were perceived as low (51.6 %), average global quality of life predominated (74.2 %).

Conclusions:

The study of quality of life from the perspective of older adults with colorectal cancer provided elements for better management and care of these individuals. Gaps were identified that should be considered by health care decision-makers, which will allow decisions to be made on a scientific basis and thus have a positive influence on the health of these patients.

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