臺灣自1993年邁入高齡社會迄今，老年人人口即成一大人口群。雖然文獻證實老 年人大抵都有慢性病纏身的困擾，如何能活得久且活得好？自成我們全體國民努力的目標。 「生活品質」是近來頗熱門的話題。本文以東西方對生活品質的看法為引言，試圖去解釋何 謂老年人的生活品質，進而查證分析影響老年人生活品質的因素。就此議題來看，最重要的 是如何維持或增進老年人的生活品質。文中以傳統的病人中心護理與家庭中心護理為題，思 索就此一老人生活品質議題中，護理在臨床照護與護理研究宜發展的重點。

　　　　　The elderly population is a large group in Taiwan area after 1993. Literature has identified that most of the elderly was suffered from at least one chronic disease. How to live well and live longer are the goals that we are in pursuit of. "Quality of life (QOL)" is a hot issue recently. The perspectives from Western culture and Chinese culture lead us to explore the concept of quality of life for Chinese elderly. Related factors and strategies to promote QOL were also explored. Several keys related to clinical nursing care and nursing research were pointed out from traditional ways of patient-center care to recently family-center care.