Identifying Physical health status and its association with depression among retired staffs of Bojnourd education department

Introduction and Retirement and ageing are the two important parts of human life that can be studied in various aspects. Retirement, which is usually considered as a stressful process and is related to depression and poor physical health status, plays an important role in identity and self-esteem of individuals. The aim of this study was to identify physical health status and its association with depression among retired staffs of Bojnourd education department. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 259 retired teachers living in the city of Bojnourd in 2011. Participants were collected using convinivence sampling method. Data were collected using three parts questionnaire including socio-demographic charactristics, a researcher-made questionnaire to measure physical health status and Beck Depression Inventory. The researcher-made questionnaire was initially approved by experts and then its reliability was assessed using Cronbachs alpha (0.85). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. The results of this study showed that there is a significant (p< 0.05) association between depression and the following physical complaints: visual, oral, respiratory, skin, gastrointestinal, urinary - genital, neurology, musculoskeletal, blood pressure, heart and vessels, disorder dreams, endocrinology and infectious disease. Problems of the elderly can be solved by social engagement into activities that are compatible with retieers’ capabilities.