Elderly Health Journal
Year:2022 | Volume:8 | Issue:1|Papers Count:9

In today's modern world, socio-economic development has reduced population growth and increased life expectancy worldwide. Due to the beginning of the transition of age structure from youth to aging and the ever-increasing growth rate of the elderly population compared to the total population growth in the country, the population aging phenomenon is going to be experienced in the coming years (1). Facing the population aging phenomenon will cause serious challenges for the country, and managing such a complex condition requires adjusting the existing challenges and creating new horizons. In this regard, collective wisdom can be used for better system performance. In fact, it is necessary to consider new ways to manage the country's aging field with new thoughts and ideas and to solve the existing challenges. In order to use collective wisdom and experts’,point of view, the main challenges must be extracted and prioritized...

Aging is one of the life courses that more than 60% of people experience as the last stage of their life. This period, which begins at the age of 65, has consequences and characteristics that make the seniors in need of constant care in physical and mental dimensions. The family is the best place to provide comfort for the aged people (1-3), but often for various reasons including: specialized care, lack of access to necessary resources and equipment, conflict between the value system of the new and old generation, communication problems and Psychological pressures and the existence of specific disorders in older adults, the family will not have the necessary skills to care the seniors, and therefore the undeniable position of specialized interventions to maintain and promote the health of the older adults becomes more apparent (3, 4). The nature of these specialized interventions should be focused on changing the behavior of older adults, because almost all disorders of old age are chronic and lifestyle-related problems (3). According to the World Health Organization, regardless of physical disorders, the major problem in aging is related to mental disorders such as anxiety, hopelessness and depression. These disorders provide the basis for many behavioral problems in older adults (5)...

Introduction: Physical activity is a predictor of the health outcomes of the older adults, and many approaches have been introduced for its implementation. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of group physical games on life quality (QOL) of older adults at an adult day care center. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted using pre-test and post-test. Using convenience sampling, a total of 50 senior citizens above 60 years of age from two adult daycare centers of Babol and Amol in 2017 was placed in an intervention (25) and a control (25) group, respectively. The intervention group received physical games program twice a week for 6 weeks. The SF12 questionnaire was used to assess the QOL. The statistical analysis of the variables was carried out using t-tests, Wilcoxon, and Mann-Whitney tests at a significant level (P < 0. 05) with SPSS software. Results: The QOL scores of the participants in the intervention group, compared to the control group have significantly improved (p < 0. 001). The calculated difference for the quality of life of the intervention group was (d = 4. 40 ±,2. 36) being (d = 1. 68 ±,1. 74) and (d = 2. 72 ±,1. 51) in the physical and mental aspects, respectively. Conclusion: Physical exercise program (especially stationary physical game) can improve the quality of life of the older adults both physically and mentally. Therefore, such activities can be used to improve the quality of life of the older adults.

Introduction: Dizziness may be associated with negative health outcomes. This study aimed to determine the associations between dizziness and mental and physical health outcomes in middle-aged and older community-dwelling adults in India. Methods: Cross-sectional data from 72, 262 individuals (≥,45 years) of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) Wave 1 in 2017-2018 were analyzed. Dizziness was assessed with the question of having persistent or troublesome dizziness or light headedness in the past two years. Results: More than one in seven participants (13. 7%) reported past 2-years dizziness. In adjusted logistic, linear and Poisson regression analyses, dizziness was associated with worse self-rated health status, lower life satisfaction, major depressive disorder, insomnia symptoms and severe fatigue. Regarding physical health, dizziness increased the odds of pain conditions, cardiovascular conditions, chronic lung disease, functional limitations, fall history, hearing loss, impaired vision and higher number of medications currently used. In addition, in the unadjusted analysis, dizziness was negatively associated with cognitive functioning. Conclusion: Dizziness was associated with six poor mental health and eight poor physical health outcomes. Findings support multidimensional management of dizziness in the general population.

Introduction: Aging is associated with biological changes and may lead to various cognitive behavioural disorders such as insomnia and depression. Non-pharmacological interventions with pharmacological therapies would be effective, economical, and safe. The present study compared the effect of muscle strength-range of movement (MSROM) training and digital game on insomnia and depression disorders in older women and men. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental pre/post-intervention. After recruitment invitations and screening, 92 participants were randomly assigned into three groups including physical training (PT,n = 31), mental training (MT,n = 30) and control group (CG,n = 31). Insomnia and depression were measured by insomnia severity index and geriatric depression scale (short form), respectively. The training programs were held 3 days per week for 8 weeks. Physical training began with 25 minutes in the first week and finished with 60 minutes in the eighth week using Borg rating of perceived exertion within the desired 13 to 15 range. A mental game has been launched on Android operating systems on cell phones/tablets which consisted of 4 games with 3 levels. Differences in variables were assessed via Factorial ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test (p ≤,0. 05). Results: The Bonferroni post-hoc test revealed significant decreases in PT compared with CG in men (p = 0. 010) and women (p = 0. 038) regarding insomnia. Furthermore, there were significant decreases in PT compared with CG (p = 0. 005) and PT compared with MT (p = 0. 003) in men regarding depression,Significant decreases were also observed through comparing PT with CG (p = 0. 043) in women regarding depression. Conclusion: Findings demonstrated that MSROM training improved moderate insomnia and mild depression compared to smart thinker training in older women and men regardless of gender.

Introduction: Vulnerable older persons need sufficient resilience to deal with (agerelated) adversities and safeguard their quality of life. In this study, we investigate which sources of strength vulnerable older persons use to deal adversities. Methods: This qualitative study is based on fifteen narratives of community-dwelling vulnerable older persons in Belgium, who were selected through a ‘, purposive sampling’,strategy. Results: Vulnerable older persons use various interrelated sources of strength situated on the individual, interactional, and contextual domains. On the individual domain, important sources of strength are having an optimistic life view and accepting the own vulnerabilities. On the interactional domain positive social relations, ‘, the power of giving’,and social participation are sources of strength that benefit the quality of life of older persons, and on the contextual domain various welfare benefits are essential. Conclusion: It is crucial to stimulate those sources of strength, for example by removing contextual barriers that impede social participation. The results can guide empowering interventions that aim to reinforce the sources of strength of vulnerable older persons, which will positively affect their resilience and general well-being.

Introduction: The elders need proper medical and psychiatric care and attention, so choosing a suitable therapeutic approach for their psychological care, especially in those with cognitive impairment, will be effective in improving psychological symptoms and their health. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation on agitation, apathy and cognitive function. Methods: This quasi-experimental study carried out among male elders with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Kahrizak Charity nursing home in Alborz province in 2020. A sample of 36 male elders with MCI was purposefully selected and randomly assigned to experimental (n = 18) and control (n = 18) groups. Data were collected through Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory,Apathy Evaluation Scale and Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Basic. The intervention group received 8 sessions of 90 minutes, cognitive rehabilitation based on kelly and O'Sullivan's cognitive rehabilitation strategies and techniques. Results: After controlling the mean scores of the pretest, a significant difference was observed in agitation (96. 6 vs 101. 9) apathy (30. 02 vs 34. 10) and cognitive function (19. 60 vs 16. 80) between experimental and control groups. This means that cognitive rehabilitation reduced agitation and apathy with effect sizes of 0. 42 and 0. 54 respectively and increased cognitive function with an effect size of 0. 65. Conclusion: Considering the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation in reducing agitation, apathy and increasing cognitive function of the participants, cognitive rehabilitation is suggested to improve individual functioning and interpersonal relationships in the elderly with MCI.

Introduction: Hopelessness and negative rumination are among issues the older adults cope with it. Examining effective therapy strategies to decrease them are of great importance. The current study was conducted with regard to understanding the importance of this issue. It aims at examining the effectiveness of mindfulness-based compassion therapy on hopelessness and rumination among the female elderly. Methods: It was a semi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test and a control group. Statistical population was 70 elderly females of over 60 and above in nursing home in Bojnurd City, North Khorasan Province, Iran, in 2020. Among these people, 30 individuals willing to participate in the study were introduced by the center’, s psychologist and randomly assigned into two experimental (15) and control (15) groups. Instrument for collecting data was Beck Hopelessness Scale and Hooksma rumination questionnaire. Data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed by the covariance analysis test. Results: Results suggested that mindfulness-based compassion therapy led to a significant decrease on mean scores of hopelessness regarding the experimental group in comparison with the control group (p < 0. 01). However, it did not have a significant effect on rumination. Conclusion: Mindfulness-based compassion therapy may be used for decrease of hopelessness regarding aging, but it is not effective for rumination.

Introduction: Nurses are always involved with caring for elderly patients. They need to increase their knowledge and skills in the field of aging to provide effective care to elderly patients. Moreover, attitudes of nurses affect the quality of care for elderly people. Some interventions such as education are effective tools for improving nurses' knowledge and attitudes to better understand the problems of the elderly. The present study aims at determining the effect of teaching fundamentals of geriatric life on nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward aging. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest with control group study. It was performed on 91 nurses working in Meybod (44 nurses) and Ardakan Hospitals (47 nurses). Training sessions on fundamentals of geriatric life were conducted for the experimental group. The training program consisted of five training sessions in the field of geriatrics. Data collection instruments included: Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz, and Kogan's Attitude Toward Older People Scale, which were completed three times before, immediately after, and two months after the intervention for both groups. Results: There was no significant difference in knowledge between the two groups before the intervention (p = 0. 792). Yet, the knowledge score immediately and two months after the intervention showed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups (p < 0. 01). The mean score of attitude before intervention was no significant difference between groups (p = 0. 069). However, there was a significant difference in attitude score immediately and two months after the intervention between the experimental and control groups (p < 0. 01). Conclusion: Teaching fundamentals of geriatric nursing to nurses improved their knowledge and attitudes toward the problems and needs of the elderls. Using retraining courses in the field of aging is recommended for nurses.