Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing
Year:2008 | Volume:3 | Issue:7|Papers Count:9

Objective: In recent years, due to the progress in medical sciences, we have encountered increasing life expectancy and population growth rate. Recognition of the elder’s real needs is prerequisite to planning in order to deliver services for them. The purpose of the present study was to assess requirements of the elder’s social security organization and national retirement fund. Materials and Methods: This research was a cross-sectional study. Participants were 150 elder pensioners who randomly selected. Need assessment check list, and LEIPAD elderly quality of life questionnaire were used for date collection. T-test, one way ANOVA and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used to analyze the data using SPSS. Results: there were no significant associations between the two groups in terms of total quality of life were found (P=0.103). All of dimensions of quality of life except subjective and mental function were not difference between the groups. The most important need of the elder was related to their incomes (51.7%). Cardiovascular, skeletal- muscular (33.3%) & hearing-optical (19.3%) problems comprised the most frequent health requirements. Also, the most aid instrument of the elders were artificial teeth (67.3%), glasses (52%), aid toilet (21.3%). Conclusion: In this study, many elderly mentioned health problems more than any other need Low economical status of the elderly in this study shows this group need more support from social security organizations. Generally, the most older people expressed many health problems which need more attention from policy makers in the field of health and social sectors.

Introduction: Ageing phenomenon is a naturals process. Actually, ageing includes biological changes that occurs in bioorganic and psychosocial situations in duration of life long. These changes make decreases in physical, mental powers and accomplishment in unawareness variety. These changes cause decreased physical energy and adaptation of a person. In other hands it causes decreased individual's adaptation in sudden changes and changes in structure and function in different organs among people. Ageing refer to persons who aged over 60 years. Objective: The Purpose of this study was to investigate psychosocial outcomes of older people who segregated from their homes. Materials & Methods: This study was a comparison study between home owners and nursing home residents. The participants were 100 older people (50 home owner and 50 owner kahrizak nursing home in Tehran). SCL90 scale was applied for comparison of mental disorders in the two elder groups. The hypothesis was comparison of mental disorders between home owners and nursing home residents. Results: the result showed a significant different (P<0.01, and p<0.05) between home owner and nursing home residents (in both men and women) in mental health variables. Conclusions: older adults living in nursing homes had more problems in their mental situation than home owner resident elders.

Introduction: Hypertension (H.T.)and Low Back Pain(LBP) are prevalent in the elderly and may have considerable impact on their quality of life. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of LBP and H.T. on quality of life in the elderly. Materials and Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study. Participants were 300 older people aged 60 years and over (l91healthy, 68 with LBP, 23 with H.T. and the others suffered from other diseases) who recruited randomly from Tehran Senile Culture House Club. Quality of life was measured using WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire including four domains: physical psychological, social and environmental. Data collection conducted through face to face interviews and the data were analyzed using Correlation Coefficient Spearman and ANOV A using SPSS. Results: The results indicated that mean age was 68.08 , women were233 (74.3 %) and men were77 (25.6% ) of the total sample. There was a significant difference between the mean of QOL scores in physical, psychological, environmental domains of elderly with H.T. and healthy older individuals; but there was not any difference in social domains. There was a non significant difference on quality of life scores between healthy and LBP subjects. The quality of life scores were strongly correlated with education (r=0.256, P<0.001), age(r=0.138, P<0.03), marital status (( r=0.141 , P<0.024) and gender ( r=0.131 , P<0.03) in physical domain. Conclusion: Some diseases such as H.T. and LBP may affect on quality of life in the elderly. So, treatment and prevention of these diseases may improve their quality of life.

Objective: Aging is a personal and social experience. while experiences may cause happiness for some individuals, it may cause sadness or tedious in the others. Making decision and planning aimed to improve elderly quality of life among older people, require identification of their problems. Materials methods: this study was a cross – sectional study conduced in Jahandidegan Club Foundation for elderly in 2007. Participants were 232 elderly women aged 60 – 79 years old recruited through a random zed sampling. Data collection was conducted through LEIPAD questionnaire including two domains (essential domain and simplify domain). Data were analyzed using T-test, ANOVA and linear regression in SPSS. Results: the results indicated that there was a significant difference between QOL mean scores (in each of the two domains and total score) and marital status (p<0.05), as singles had better scores in total than divorced and the other groups, Widowed and divorced elderly women had lower QOL scores than married. QOL scores (in each two domain and total score) were strongly correlated with educational level; however, only in essential domain a significant difference was observed (p=0.047). QOL mean score decreased with increasing age (p<0.05). There was a significant difference between QOL scores (in essential domain and total score) with age of the elderly women, there was also a significant difference between QOL scores (in each two domain and total score) with income (p<0.05), QOL mean increased with increasing income. There was a significant difference between QOL mean (in each two domain and total score) with existence chronic disease (p<0.05). Conclusion: results of this study demonstrated some factors such as disease, level of education, marital status, age, income and job may affect quality of elderly's life, Therefore these factors need to be considered in planning and solving older people's problems.

Introduction: older people are a vulnerable group in the society and older people abuse is a common challenge in the domain of caring and advocating. This study aimed to investigate the elderly abuse prevalence and its relationship with individual and social characteristics. Method: this study was a cross-sectional study. Participants were 385 older people aged more than 60 years old who were selected randomly. Elder Abuse scale (content validity and reliability = 87%) used. Data analysis conduced in SPSS. Findings: Participant's mean age was 70 years old prevalence of physical abuse was 11.7%, emotional abuse 5.18%, neglect 27.7%, abundance 23/8% and financial abuse 18.3%. There was a significant association(p=0.001) between exiting disease and type of living; and also between physical dependence to others and abuse(p= 0.001). Conclusion: despite respect to elder people in our culture, this population experience abuse specially neglect and financial ones. There fore,precise recognition of elder abuse in our society can increase the awareness and senility of responsible organizations in order to prevent and plan for an effective system, for vulnerable older people.

Objective: This study aimed to investe the impact of pain on older people with chronic pain. Materials and methods: Participants were 585 individuals (n=77 aged 60 years andover, n=508 aged Lessthan 60 years old) with chronic pain in their leg, back, hands, neck and shoulders. The main assessment measure was the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory (WHYMPI). Results: The two groups showed significant differences in three scales of important dimentions of pain experience. The old patients experienced more sever pain which effected their life, family supports and dependency. There were significant differents in three scales of evaluation and report of routin activities in the two groups. Conclusion: The old patients with chronic pain experienced more sever pain. The more sever pain, the more negative impact of pain in their life, requirement family support and dependency. Also, in the old patients with chronic pain group, the effect of chronic pain was more on outdoor activities, social and general activities than the group of usual patients with chronic pain. So, we should have more attention to general and social activities for providing care among older people with chrcnic pain than the other goups with chronic pain.

Objectives: Ageing is the end point of a developmental process which begins with the birth. It is not necessarily accompanied by diseases and disorders, although some are more prevalent in this period. Reportedly mental health problems, especially anxiety and depression, are seen frequently among older people which need more consideration, both in diagnosis and management. Considering the complexities of drug treatment in aging people, using psychotherapeutic approaches has been recommended. This research aimed to investigate the effects of a group counseling program based on logo-therapy concepts on the elderly women residing in the Kahrizak Nursing Home. Materials and methods: A semi- experimental design was used. Eighteen randomly selected elderly women aged more than 60 years old were evaluated by GHQ-28. Matched according to their GHQ scores, they divided in 2 equal groups. Ten weekly therapeutic group sessions implemented. The subjects were evaluated again by the same instrument. The gathered data analyzed using t test. Results: The results showed that logo-therapeutic approach group therapy led to better mental health of the subjects (p=0.005). This effect was more significant in anxiety (p=0.015) and social (p=0.005) aspects of mental health than depression (p=0.86) and somatic (p=0.13) aspects. Conclusion: Group counseling with logo-therapeutic approach may lead to a better mental health of institutionalized elderly women, hence its application is recommended.

Objective: Nowadays, in developed countries the rate of growing old population increases due to medical and public heath improvements, leading to increased life expectancy. So, providing a special elderly caring service system seems to be necessary. The purpose of this study was to compare the elderly- caring service pattern in Iran and in USA. Materials and Method: This systematic review aimed to investigate the literate related to the caring system of elderly in Iran and the USA. Sampling was goal- based and it was upon the dependence rate, relation between the topics and keywords. Findings: Although increasing the number of elderly people in the USA causes other people to be hopeful to reach to the old age, this makes a lot of significant problems for the young population in the society. Social security in the USA plays a great role in support of the elderly especially retired people financially. More than two third of the costs of health is paid for the elderly with chronic diseases. Medicare is a health insurance program in USA for elderly and handicaps (who has kidney transplanting, needs dialyze and kidney diseases), which its cost is provided by taxes, insurance and some of general incomes. Also, this program has provided the medical services for lower class and those who have no insurance. Discussion and conclusion: Social security is an important source of income for retired and elderly people in the USA and other developed countries. Without this source of income, the large population of elderly (two third or 66.8 percent) will be poor in developed countries. In Iran the social security and insurance for increasing the quality of elderly life should be studied. In Iran, establishing NGOs can help us to solve a lot of these problems.