The use of analytic hierarchy process for the prioritization of factors affecting wellbeing in elderly

The definition of well-being is complex and well-being may be affected by a wide variety of factors. Among older people well-being is even more complex, because it may vary depending on different individuals’ backgrounds and experiences. Nonetheless, it is important to understand what the concept of well-being means to older people and which factors affect well-being, because of the growing importance of cost-utility studies in medicine and health services research. Such studies aim to measure the quality of life in participants before and after a medical/surgical intervention. However, the scales used to measure quality of life are based on expert opinion, and could be improved by being more focused on what the concept of well-being means to older people themselves. In this study, based on scientific literature, we defined a hierarchy of 45 factors, organized into 15 subcategories, which were grouped into 5 main categories. A questionnaire was submitted to 23 older people who participated in a focus group on well-being. Based on their responses, we used the Analytic  Corresponding author Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Analytic Hierarchy Process 2011 2 Hierarchy Process to develop a hierarchy of factors that contribute to well-being in later life. Our experience leaded us to believe that AHP could contribute to qualitative research, assessing the priority of factors influencing the wellbeing in older people.