Migration of adult children and quality of life of older parents left-behind in Nepal

Aim: Studies regarding the impact of adult children's migration on older parents left-behind have focused on physical and mental health. This study assessed the relationship between migration of adult children and quality of life (QOL) of older parents left-behind in Nepal.

Methods: A cross-sectional community-based survey was carried out (May-July 2019) among 791 randomly selected older adults aged ≥60 years. QOL was measured using the World Health Organization Quality of Life-abbreviated scale, and migration status was assessed into three categories: no migration, internal migration only and any international migration. A range of sociodemographic characteristics were measured for adjustment. Associations between migration of children and each domain of the QOL were examined by multilevel mixed regression.

Results: Scores for QOL were; 58.8 ± 19.8 for physical, 63.7 ± 18.0 for psychological, 60.7 ± 16.2 for social, and 61.8 ± 15.0 for environmental domains. This study identified positive and null associations between the migration of children and QOL for parents, with higher scores for physical (b = 5.16, P = 0.017) and environmental (b = 3.19, P = 0.046) domains among left-behind parents whose children migrated internally compared with parents whose children did not migrate.

Conclusions: The findings differ from previous research showing poorer QOL among left-behind older parents. Migration plays a significant role in shaping physical and environmental QOL among left-behind parents living in rural areas with important implications for migrants, their families, researchers and social scientists.