The effect of peer education on the self-esteem of the elderly

Self-esteem is one of the important dimensions of mental health in the elderly. It may be affected by increasing age, reducing ability and decreasing independence of the elderly. Peer group training as a non-pharmacological treatment method based on sharing interpersonal experiences has an important role in increasing attitude and knowledge. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of peer education on the self-esteem of the elderly.

This quasi-experimental study was performed on 50 elderly people referred to Aliabad Katoul boarding center with a non-random sampling method in two test and comparison groups in 2018. The data collection tool was the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire. In the experimental group, training was conducted in 5 groups of 5 people by 5 peer trainers in 5 sessions (30-45 minutes). Data were collected before and after the intervention by self-report method. Data analysis was performed by spss21 statistical software. Statistical tests in this study were performed with the help of descriptive statistics (table, mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (paired t-test, independent t-test, chi-square and analysis of covariance) at a significant level of 0.05

Covariance test by eliminating the effect of pre-test showed that peer group training increases self-esteem of the elderly (Eta = 0.51, P = 0.01). So that 51% of post-test changes can be related to the effect of peer training.

The use of peer-to-peer self-care training groups increases the self-esteem of the elderly. Therefore, using the experiences of peer groups as a simple, low-cost but effective educational method has an important role in improving the mental health of the elderly.