Elderly Health Journal
Volume:1 Issue: 1, Jun 2015

Urinary incontinence (UI) is high prevalent in older women. Little is known about how they manage with this chronic condition from their points of view. The aim of this study was to explore older women’s experiences of management strategies in dealing with urinary incontinence. Eight community dwelling women aged 60 and over, with long term UI participated in this qualitative study. After conducting semi-structured interviews, we transcribed the participants’ responses, and analyzed them using Van-Mannen hermeneutic phenomenological method. One theme emerged from the data which is labeled as strategies adopted to combat the urinary incontinence. Results indicated that women needs to inform that there exist various treatment for UI and encourage them to seek treatment for UI.

Decrease in sleep quality is an age-related problem which appears in different features such as difficulty in sleeping, over sleeping and unusual behaviors during sleep. Regarding the importance of sleep quality among older adults and also its effects on their quality of life and physical and mental status, the study was conducted to determine the status and quality of sleep in older adults in Mehriz, Yazd Province, Iran. The cross-sectional study used cluster random sample of 126 older adults. Data collection tool was a two-part questionnaire including demographic and sleep-related questions and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Data were analyzed with SPSS software usingone-way ANOVA and chi-square tests. The most reported sleep quality related problems were pain (32.8%), waking up for toilet (28.6%) and nightmare (3.2%); waking up problem for driving was the least reported problem (0.8%). Sleep quality was worse among women than men (p=0.02). There was a statistically significant relation between sleep quality score and morbidity to thedisease of cardiovascular, diabetes, osteoporosis, breathing problems, visual and hearing problems, obesity and depression (p<0.05). Regarding the significant relation of sleep quality and some chronic conditions, the importance of educatingthe older adults who suffer from chronic conditions and also their families in this area is displayed. As with planning suitable interventions, we may not only increase the sleep quality among older adults but also treat or reduce the risk of chronic conditions among them.

Stumbling or falling is a major health problem among the elderly which accounts for their majority of physical injuries such as pelvic fractures, disability, loss of independency and even death. The goal of the study was comparison of the effect of aerobic and resistance exercise on static and dynamic balance in old men. A quasi-experimental study was conducted and thirty elderly males, who were referred to Jahandidegan institute of Borujen, were divided randomly in three empirical groups subdividing aerobic, resistance and control group. 24 hours before the start of and 24 hours after completion of eight weeks -aerobic and resistance exercise, all participants went under static and dynamic balance examination. The results were analysed by SPSS software edition 19. Mean and standard deviation of dynamic balance scores before the exercise for the resistance, aerobic and control groups were 1017.6±212.7, 930.5±238.2, 1119.6±287.3 and after eight weeks exercise were 851.7±155.5, 743.4±130.1, 1220.06±226.9 respectively. On the other hand, Mean and standard deviation of static balance scores before the exercise in resistance, aerobic and control groups were 2280.3±2286.2, 3534.9±4455.4, 1284.1±231.4 and after eight weeks exercise were 5563.4±8014.6, 6089±7888.4, 1297.1±214.4 respectively. ANOVA test revealed that the difference in changes of three groups were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Despite marginal correlation between static and dynamic balance as the outcomes of aerobic and resistant exercise these activities are proposed because such the exercises reduce incidence of falling events and related-injuries; and also risk of independency among older adults.

A challenge for health care providers is that there will be a distinct rise globally in the number of elderly people aged 80 years and over. Malnutrition is a well-known problem among elderly people. The aim of this study was to determine nutritional status and its associated risk factors in elderly nursing home residents in Tehran, Iran. The cross-sectional study was carried out among 385 elderly people aged 60 years or elder in 2014. All subjects who were attending to daily care centers for elderly people entered the study voluntarily. Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) tool was used to evaluate nutritional status. Of participants, 13.25% were malnourished according to MNA, 60% were at risk for Malnutrition, and 26.75% were well fed. In other words, 73.25% of elderly people were at risk of or suffering from Malnutrition. Nutritional status of the elderly based on MNA, was significantly associated with history of acute illness or stress, recent mobility problems, nervous mental depression, personal views about nutrition and health status. Considering the high percentage of elderly people eat risk or suffering from malnutrition in nursing homes, the need for nutritional interventions seems to be crucial.

As the elderly population increases, chronic diseases and disabilities also become more prevalent. Home care programs as hospital services supplement, not only can prevent elderly from get worse in their disabilities but also make it easier for governments to manage elderly people''s needs; therefore, we aimed to determine the home visit services provided for elderly residing in Isfahan province, Iran. The cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 elderly persons aged 60 years and above who were randomly selected from the list of the aged people which took services from seven home visit service centers. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics. Mean± standard deviation age of the participants was 76±8.8 years and about 70% were illiterate. Only about 56% of included participants were able to care themselves. A large number (56.3%) of participants'' income source was personal and 5.7% were did not have any insurance at all. The costs of 93.5% of services were provided by the Welfare Organization. The services provided at these centers include general physician visits, nursing cares, physiotherapy and occupational therapy services, psychologist and social worker visits. As the home visit services might be effective for providing health care for the aged people and increasing their quality of life, policymaking to spread these services seems to be crucial especially for Iran.

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common disorder among aging population especially women. Women are at more risk of UI than men, because of anatomic, social and cultural status and also because of pregnancy, delivery and menopause. Regarding lack of studies in the area in Yazd, the study aimed to find the prevalence and related factors to UI among aging women in Yazd city, Iran. The cross-sectional study carried out on 127 women aged ≥60 years in Yazd city, in central Iran, who was selected by clustered random sampling. Data were collected with the Persian version of ICIQ-SF and were analyzed with descriptive and inferential tests using SPSS software. The mean age of participants was 70.17±6.50. The prevalence of UI was 62.2% while the prevalence of urge UI was 5.5%, stress UI was 39.4% and mixed UI was 3.1%. There was statistically significant relation between UI severity and history of diabetes (p=<0.01), glaucoma (p=<0.01), fecal incontinence (p=<0.01), menopause (p=<0.01) and pain in low abdomen (p=0.02). Also there was a significant positive correlation between UI severity and women''s age and weight. Regarding the high prevalence of UI, especially stress UI and it''s relation with some diseases such as diabetes and obesity, any intervention programs aimed to increase the healthy life style among women may be effective in management of UI.

Now a day, resulting from life style modification and alteration, fatigue, as a consequence, is not uncommon symptom. Diverse tools are available to measure fatigue status. One of which is FACIT fatigue scale. The FACIT is one of the most widely used questionnaires for screening fatigue. The questionnaire has been translated and validated? Into 45 different languages, but there is not Persian version. The aim of the study was to test validity and reliability of Persian version of this scale amongst the elderly population of Yazd, a city in Iran. The scale was translated into Persian (P-FACIT) by using Standard method of Backward-Forward. Then a prospective cross-sectional study was defined thereby 150 elderly people, who were selected by a classified cluster random sampling, filled in the P-FACIT. Content validity Index, test- retest of 20 people and calculating Cronbach’s alpha by SPSS 20 were used to investigate content validity and reliability, respectively. Content validity index of the Persian version was (0.96) and Cronbach’s alpha (0/891) approved its internal consistency. Also, intra-cluster correlation coefficient of questionnaire was upper than 0.7. The P-FACIT fatigue scale achieved acceptable validity and reliability to use as a scale for the elderly in Yazd. In addition, our result made the scale available as a tool for population-based study.

Elderly patients suffer disproportionally from a number of chronically painful conditions, with arthritis leading the list. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disorder and the most prevalent cause of joint pain across the spectrum of middle age to elderly. Enhancing behavioral intention toward self-care for OA, previously known as proximal predictor of self-care, is one of the fundamental strategies to improve self-management. The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent a correlation between behavioral intention and self-care attempts exists; and status of intention toward self-care and self-care behaviors among older adults who are suffering from OA in Yazd city, Iran. A cross-sectional study was conducted and 87 elderly subjects (mean age of 64.59±3.72 year-old) referred to selected medical centers in Yazd were randomly included. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire designed for the study which includes demographic variables, behavioral intention, and self-care behaviors categories of items. Data were analyzed with SPSS18 using suitable statistical tests. The mean score of behavioral intention and self-care behaviors was 44.71±4.63 (range: 11-55) and 44.75±5.84 (range: 12-60) respectively. The results revealed that intention to use cane and swimming were less prevalent, intention to use suitable shoes, however, was at the highest interest among patients. It was approximately the same about reported self-care behaviors. The results also showed a significant correlation between behavioral intention and self-care behaviors (P=0.00). Despite demonstrably prevalent intention and self-care behaviors, there are varies self-care behaviors under-looked yet, such as swimming and using the cane, which need to be more closely addressed in educational programs.