Objectives: to compare the perceptions of quality of life (QOL) and to identify factors associated with QOL among seniors living in the community in Porto Alegre, RS and institutionalized seniors from the countryside of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Method: this study used secondary data from two cross-sectional epidemiological studies. The sample consisted of 288 seniors living in the community and 76 institutionalized seniors. An instrument addressing socio-demographic data and the WHOQOL-BREF were administered.
Results: bivariate analysis showed that age, gender, schooling, self-reported health, and leisure presented statistically significant differences between institutionalized and non-institutionalized seniors. The Psychological and Social Relationships domains also presented statistically significant differences. The variables that presented significant correlation in multivariate analysis in relation to the Psychological domain were education, assessments of health, leisure and in relation to the Social domain, education and age.
Conclusion: being institutionalized did not influence the older adults' perceptions of QOL, but the socio-demographic characteristics and self-assessments of health did.