Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing
Year:2017 | Volume:12 | Issue:3|Papers Count:14

Objectives: Among different people, especially the elderly who are undergoing their specific physical, emotional, and psychological conditions, quality of life is considered an issue that is of paramount importance. The present study aims to make a comparison between the quality of life in elderly women who lead an active life with those with a non-active one with special emphasis on physical activity.Methods & Materials: The study is a descriptive research including a sample population of 176 elderly women over 60 years old in Bandar-e Gaz city in Iran. Convenience sampling was performed. To obtain the required data, a Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire was used. For statistical analysis, Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test and Mann–Whitney U test were used. All the statistical operations were done using SPSS Statistics 20 in significance level of P£0.05.Results: The results of study indicate that the average age of active and non-active women were 65.69±5.45 and 64.32±5.14 respectively. The active elderly women enjoyed a higher quality of life than the non-active ones considering indicators such as physical performance limitations, physical and emotional problems, and pain and public health. However, in terms of social function indicator, no significant difference was noted between them. Mental and public health indicators are considered as the most important aspects of quality of life.Conclusion: The findings of this study suggested engaging in regular physical activity as it could work as a significant strategy to improve the quality of life among the elderly. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that the officials dealing with public health create appropriate facilities for the physical activity and sports of the elderly women.

Objectives: Deterministic thinking as a destructive factor in disrupting the balance of hope and fear plays an important role in mental health, especially depression and anxiety. This distortion is caused by cognitive inflexibility in the mind. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between deterministic thinking and depression and sense of loneliness in older adults.Methods & Materials: The type of study was descriptive-correlational. The population included all the older adults over 60 years who were living in a nursing home in 2014-15 in Karaj. Of them, 142 individuals were selected (male and female) by available sampling method. They were then asked to respond to deterministic thinking questionnaire, Geriatric Depression Scale, and UCLA loneliness scale. The data collected were imported to AMOS software and analyzed by path analysis model.Results: The results of the path analysis model showed that deterministic thinking has a significant and positive relationship with depression (P=0.001) and sense of loneliness variable (P=0.001). It also has a significant effect on the prediction of sense of loneliness and depression with effect size of 0.26 and 0.28, respectively. The mean age was 67.2 years for women and 65.4 years for men. The mean score deterministic thinking, sense of loneliness and depression in women and men respectively were 118/50, 70/80, and 12.55.Conclusion: According to the results, it can be said that deterministic thinking has a significant relationship with depression and sense of loneliness in older adults. So, deterministic thinking acts as a predictor of depression and sense of loneliness in older adults. Therefore, psychological interventions for challenging cognitive distortion of deterministic thinking and attention to mental health in older adult are very important.

Objectives: Balance maintenance is one of the indices of determining independence in older people. Identifying other factors that have considerable impact on the independence of older peoples is an interesting research topic. The present study aims at determining the effect of Neurofeedback and Mental Motor Imagery practices on balance in the elderly.Methods & Materials: The population of this study consisted of elderly people of Mashhad, a city in northeast Iran. A total of 24 elderly people with age ranging from 60-82 years old volunteered to participate in the study and were randomly assigned to three groups (with eight participants in each group). The participants of experimental groups were involved in the special training (neurofeedback training and mental imagery practice) for eight weeks (with three sessions each week) while the control group were not involved in any practice. Stork Balance Stand Test and Timed Up and Go (TUG) tests were used to assess the static and dynamic balance of participants respectively, before and after the training sessions. The Shapiro-Wilk test of normality was used to check normality of data. Additionally, Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine the effect of training with pre-test scores used as covariate. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics 21 at a=0.05.Results: The results of Analysis of Covariance revealed that there was a significant effect of neurofeedback and mental imagery on the static and dynamic balance of elderly people (P<0.05). Furthermore, neurofeedback had superior effect in both of the balance conditions (P<0.05).Conclusion: The study recommends neurofeedback and mental motor imagery practices to prevent balance loosing and improving balance ability in elderly people.

Objectives: Job satisfaction is defined as the level of fulfillment employees feel about their work, which can affect performance to a great extent. Given the importance of job satisfaction among middle-aged and elderly, this study aims to investigate the relationship between resilience, self-efficacy, and social support with job satisfaction among middle-aged and elderly population in Kermanshah, Iran.Methods & Materials: The study population consisted of all working middle-aged and elderly in Kermanshah in the year 2016. A total of 240 people (including 160 male and 80 female with age ranging between 50-75 with average 66.87) were selected through convenience sampling. Research data was used collected through the following questionnaires: General Self-Efficacy (GSE-10), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Specter's Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS).Results: Data analysis was performed using correlation and regression analysis. The results showed a positive relationship between self-efficacy and resilience and job satisfaction. A significant positive relationship was also found between social support and job satisfaction among middle-aged and elderly.Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, it can be concluded that self-efficacy, resiliency, and social support are predictor variables that be used to predict job satisfaction in the middle-aged and elderly.

Objectives: Old age is a sensitive period of human life. So with increasing elderly population, attention needs to be given to issues related to old age, especially among the institutionalized elderly. So, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of life review group therapy on psychological well-being and life expectancy of elderly women living in Ardabil.Methods & Materials: The present study adopted a semi-experimental design, with pretest and posttest and control group. The study population comprised all the elderly women residents in the sanatoriums of the nursing homes present in Ardabil in 2016. Thirty participants were randomly selected and divided into two groups, namely control group and experimental group of 15 participants each. The Ryff Psychological Well-being Questionnaire and Snyder Life Expectancy Scale were used to collect the required data. After implementing the pretest, the experimental group received life review group therapy for 1.5 hours in 6 sessions, once a week. After the training, posttest was repeated for two groups, and data was analyzed using covariance analysis.Results: The findings of the study showed that there were significant differences between experimental and control groups with respect to autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance (P<0.01). Furthermore, a significant improvement was noted in the life expectancy of elderly women in the experimental groups (P<0.05).Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, it was concluded that life review group therapy could significantly enhance the psychological well-being and life expectancy in elderly women. With the rapid increase in the number of elderly, life review group therapy is highly recommended.

Objectives: The present study aimed to examine the relationship between early maladaptive schemas with meaning of life and well-being of the elderly and investigation and its prediction by early maladaptive schemas.Methods & Materials: In this research, a total of 200 older people (96 women and 104 men) were selected from Tehran city by convenience sampling. The instruments used in this study consisted of the Yung early maladaptive Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (SQ-SF), Meaning of Life Questionnaire (MLQ) and Ryffs Scales of Psychological Well-Being (RSPWB).Results: The results of multiple regression analyses showed that 37% of the elderly participants found meaning, 27% found meaning in life, 27% in self- acceptance, 24% in positive relationship with the others, and 44% in environment control, as predicted by early maladaptive schemas. Early maladaptive schemas cannot project autonomy, personal growth and purpose in life. This correlation was significant (P<0.001). Based on the analyses of variance, the regression method was also significant and linear because the value of F test for determining the effect of independent variables on finding meaning and meaning in life, i.e., 5.21 and 3.22, respectively, was significant (P<0.001). Also, the effect of independent variables on well-being and self-acceptance (f=3.22) showed a positive relationship with others (f=2.68) and environment control (f=2.17), which was significant (P<0.001).Conclusion: Findings of this research revealed that early maladaptive schemas (unrelenting standards, self-sacrifice, subjugation, emotional deprivation, social isolation, and failure) have predictive power for meaning of life and well-being, which may affect the mental health of the elderly.

Objectives: According to documentary statistics, the old age phenomenon in the world, as well as in Iran, is irrefutable. Two main problems of elderly people must be solved, i.e. low intelligence and social isolation. So, there is a need to provide a more suitable environment to the senior citizens in order to decrease their depression caused by loneliness. This study, thus, examines the importance of cognitive and social factors and the relationship between them, affecting the healing properties of the nursing homes of Iran.Methods & Materials: This study was conducted through the survey process by examining 148 older adults (75 males and 73 females) living in 9 nursing homes in Tehran. A questionnaire was presented to the participants (Cronbach's alpha equal to 0.904) to investigate the association of perceptional (mental and emotional) and social factors.Results: The relationships between the study variables and demographic data of the participants were analyzed. The mean age of the elderly age was 83 years, and the standard deviation was 0.58. The analyses by descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.99 and significance level P≤0.05 and variance analysis of Fisher LSD) were performed by SPSS 22.0. It was evident from the results that there is a relationship of perceptual-psychological (P=0.000) and socio-cultural (P=0.000) factors with the perceptual-emotional factor. There was also a relationship of perceptual-emotional (P=0.000) and socio-cultural (P=0.003) factors with the perceptual-mental factor. It was also revealed that there are significant relationships between the demographic characteristics of elderly people, the length of stay in the center, marital status, and the reason for their reference to the center.Conclusion: Based on these findings, it is concluded that the perceptual factors (emotional and mental) of the elderly environment is affected by any alterations in their social and cultural relations. According to the results derived from the demographic characteristics, it is concluded that some features of people also influence these factors. Therefore, these features should be considered in architecture to improve life quality.

Objectives: Although the earthquake is a natural disaster, it has become a social subject and has created vulnerable groups due to its various social effects. One of these groups is the elderly. The present study aimed to investigate the social vulnerability of elderly people who experienced earthquakes.Methods & Materials: The present study involved a cross-sectional qualitative-quantitative method. The population comprised all the elderly people in Kerman and East Azarbaijan provinces. In the qualitative part, in order to identify the social problem of elderly who experienced an earthquake, Categories has been collected By focus group. For this purpose, 17 people were selected by purposive sampling method for focus group of elderly and the social damage of the earthquake was determined. In the quantitative phase, 90 older people who have experienced the earthquake in Bam, Varzaghan and Ahar were selected randomly, and 90 older people who have not experienced an earthquake were selected and matched with the first group. Both groups answered the questionnaire on social isolation, social support, social adjustment questionnaire, and Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 21) and t-test.Results: In the qualitative part, social damage of earthquakes, including social incompatibility, social isolation, lack of social acceptance and lack of social support were identified through interviews. In the quantitative results, the average of social incompatibility was 4.93±0.66, social isolation was 12.23±3.91, social acceptance was 11.41±2.38, and social support was 34.12±6.81 among the older people who faced an earthquake. However, the average of social conflict was 3.42±1.16, social isolation was 8.06±3.17, social acceptance was 24.7±4.66, and social support was 68.9±8.96 among the other older people. The findings of the study showed that the rate of social compatibility of the older people who have experienced the earthquake is less than that of other older people, but the social isolation is more than that in other older people (P<0.01). The results showed that feelings of social support and acceptance of older people who have experienced the earthquake were less than that of other older people (P<0.01).Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, it was concluded that older people is one of Social groups that in the earthquake addition of distraction and loss of orientation and memory, confront with social problems that have not been considered. So, planning and preparing strategies to reduce and control such injuries are important.

Objectives: The aging population is increasing worldwide, and Iran is not an exception. Trauma is the fifth leading cause of death in patients over 65 years, and 28% of these people die as a result of trauma. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the incidence pattern of trauma in 60 years old and older cases divided by age and gender in order to develop strategies to prevent injuries in this high-risk age group.Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional retrospective study, the data of all the 60 years old and older cases admitted in the pre-hospital emergency system of Mazandaran were extracted during the five years (2010-2014). The data included age, sex, pre-hospital diagnosis, date, type of trauma, mechanism of trauma, location of accident, the victim's status (driver, passenger, pedestrian or other), severity of injury, and season and time of the incident. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS software version 19, chi-square and Fisher's exact tests.Results: The incidence of trauma in 2014 had a 1.7% increase compared to that in 2010. A total of 6844 cases (62.8%) surveyed were male, and 4054 cases (37.2%) were female. Most of the trauma cases occurred in the age group of 60-64 years with 3680 cases (33.8%). Most trauma cases in the elderly were related to traffic accidents with 6521 cases (59.8%), followed by falls, injuries and assaults with 3494 (32%), 517 (4.7%). and 257 (4.2%) cases, respectively. Most trauma cases occurred in summer with 2982 cases (27.4%), and trauma was most likely to occur between 8 am to 12 pm with 3119 (28.6%) cases. According to the Pearson’s chi-square test, there was a statistically significant relationship between the time of accident and the final status (P<0.05). The highest incidence of death was in the age group 60 to 64 years. Chance of survival was lower in men than in women.Conclusion: The elderly are more prone to accidents due to physical changes caused by aging and inappropriate environmental conditions. According to the findings of the present study, accidents and falls are the most common cases of incidents in the elderly people. The risk of injury and disability in this age group can be prevented by comprehensive preventive and controlling programs.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of deep aquatic exercises on balance among elderly men.Methods & Materials: Thirty elderly men voluntarily participated in this experiment. Subjects were randomly divided into two equal groups including experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in a deep aquatic exercise program that consisted of 60-minutes sessions three times a week for eight weeks, while the control group was not into any exercise. Postural stability (static balance) was assessed before and after the program as pre-test and post-test by Biodex Balance System (BBS) respectively. Independent sample t-test and paired sample t-test (P£0.05) were performed on outcome variables.Results: The results of the comparison between the two groups of 15 individuals in terms of demographic and anthropometric features [experimental group with mean age of (65.50±3.481), height (168.10±5.215), weight (70.865±7.775) and body mass index (24.781±2.483) and the control group with an average age of (66.50±3.232), height (169.20±6.314), weight (71.322±8.531) and body mass index (24.982±3.535) were divided], the two groups showed no difference in results is homogeneity. The findings of the study showed that aquatic exercises program has significant effect on the static balance (P£0.05). The results indicated significant differences between the subjects of experimental and control groups after the exercise program, and also paired sample t-test showed significant differences between pre and post-tests in experimental group while no differences observed in control group.Conclusion: According to this study, doing the deep-aquatic exercises is effective on improving the static balance of old people and reducing their risk of falling.