Comparing the effectiveness of telenursing with in-person follow up on the feeling of loneliness among the elderly in community health centers in Ahvaz in 2017

With growing number of the elderly population, feeling of loneliness as an effective factor on health and quality of life of them, requires a greater amount of attention. Meanwhile, follow-up with the purpose of establishing a continuous, dynamic caring relationship, play an important role in raising awareness and strengthening the performance of the elderly. This study was conducted to compare the effect of telephone follow-up (telenursing) with in-person follow-up on the feeling of loneliness in the elderly in community health centers in Ahvaz in 2017.
This semi-experimental study was implemented on 60 elderly people (60-75 yrs) in Ahvaz Health Centers. The sample was selected using systematic randomized sampling method. All 60 samples received a three-session training program in 3 weeks. In two months, the group receiving telenursing had six appointments while the group receiving in-person follow up had two. Data was collected using demographic questionnaires, short cognitive status test and Revised Russell's Loneliness Scale. The data was analyzed with SPSS software (version 20). P-values less than 0.05 was considered significant.
Average loneliness score was 38.03 and 34.2 in the group receiving telenursing and 35.9 and 32.6 in the group receiving in-person follow up before and after intervention, respectively. Both in the in-person follow up group (p = 0.001) and the telenursing group (p = 0.002), loneliness decreased following the intervention.
The results showed that there was a decline in feeling of loneliness in the two groups. Therefore, both follow-up methods are suggested for the elderly population.