فصلنامه سالمند
پیاپی 65 (بهار 1401)

The rapid growth of the elderly population has led to more problems, such as declining independence. Due to the importance of doing independent daily living activities in the elderly, this study was conducted to determine the relationship between social support, cognitive status, and depressive symptoms with daily activities in the elderly in Amirkola City.

This matched case-control study is part of the first phase of the cohort project for the elderly in Amirkola City, which was conducted on all people aged 60 years and more in Amirkola City. To collect the data, various questionnaires, including demographic characteristics, mental brief assessment (MMSE), duke social support index (DSSI), elderly depression index (GDS), activity of daily living (ADL), and instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) were used. Statistical analysis of variables was performed using descriptive (frequency, mean and standard deviation) and analytical tests (independent t-test, conditional logistic regression) and at a significant level (P<0.05) with the SPSS v. 21 software.

In this study, the mean cognitive status of the elderly without a functional disability was significantly higher than the elderly with a functional disability (P=0.001). Also, in the elderly with functional disabilities, the mean score of depression and the presence of disease was significantly higher, and the mean of social support and ability to perform the activity of daily living were substantially lower (P=0.001). Findings of adjusted conditional logistic regression analysis showed that the elderly with cognitive impairment, chronic diseases, and lack of social support are more likely to be disabled in their activity of daily living (P<0.05).

The presence of cognitive impairment and concomitant chronic diseases in the elderly has played the most significant role in the disability of the elderly in activities of daily living. However, increasing social support effectively improved the ability to act for the everyday living of the elderly. Therefore, annual screening of the elderly regarding health status and chronic diseases, cognitive status, and improvement and expansion of the social support network for the elderly can play an effective role in preventing functional disabilities.

 Retirement is one of the life crises which can cause psychological and social problems in people and cause incompatibility and symptoms called Retirement Syndrome. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the psychosocial self-care training program on retirement syndrome in educators as a program to improve and expose retirees to retirement. 

 In this study, a two-group quasi-experimental method was performed on 64 education retirees in 1398 in Gonabad. After reviewing the entry and exit criteria of the research units (individuals were randomly assigned), they were assigned to two experimental and control groups. Psychosocial self-care training sessions were held once a week for 6 hours for one hour (for) the intervention group. The participants completed the retirement syndrome questionnaire at the beginning and end of these sessions. After data collection, the analysis was performed using SPSS software v. 20. The significance level was considered at P<0.05.

 This study considered 4 main categories regarding retirement syndrome. These categories include Feelings of confusion and conflict, Feelings of new effort and orientation, Feelings of old age and emptiness, and feelings of helplessness and failure. Also, based on the independent t-test, no statistically significant difference was observed between the retirement syndrome scores of the two groups before the intervention (P>0.05); however, the average score of retirement syndrome in the two groups after the intervention and the difference in the average score of retirement syndrome of the two groups before and after the intervention had a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). This means that the training program improved the intervention group’s retirement syndrome (P<0.05).

 The results of the current study showed that holding face-to-face meetings and conducting psychosocial self-care training on retirement syndrome in retired educators positively reduced the symptoms of retirement syndrome. By teaching self-care and learning self-care strategies in old age, we can prepare retirees to cope with or reduce the symptoms of retirement syndrome.

 Social network in older adults refers to interpersonal relationships and the perception of these relationships. Given the importance of the social network, the current study was conducted to answer three pivotal questions. First, do personal and regional factors affect the social network of the elderly? Second, how much share do the individual and regional factors have in the social network of the elderly? And third, which of these factors affect the social network of the elderly at each level of the personal and regional relationships.

 The study was conducted based on the second round of the Tehran city health equity and response tool (Urban-Heart 2). Thus, 5760 individuals (age <60 year) were selected from 22 urban regions in Tehran City. These data were then analyzed using the multilevel regression model.

The personal and regional levels explained about 89% and 11% of the social network of the elderlies, respectively. The individual factors explained 21% of the variance in the social network. Out of these parameters, age between 60 and 74, illiteracy, self-reported health, and mental health affected the social network significantly. At the regional level, the feeling of security, the control of corruption, the waiting time for bus arrival, and the sense of responsibility were the most influential factors explaining 19% of the variance in the social network.

 Not only is the social network of the elderlies affected by personal factors such as age, education level, and self-reported health and mental health, but it is also affected by regional factors (feeling of security, the control of corruption, the sense of responsibility, and waiting time for bus arrival). Although these regional factors are out of personal control, they can be improved for the elderly in society.

The elderly population is increasing, and one of the common problems in the elderly is a sleep disorder. Poor sleep quality causes various musculoskeletal problems, including chronic nonspecific Low back pain. In this regard, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of pre-sleep exercises on sleep quality parameters and chronic nonspecific chronic low back pain after sleep in the elderly.

This study was quasi-experimental. A total of 40 retirees over 60 years old of Isfahan University of Technology with a Mean±SD age of 64.52±3.18 years, a weight of 81.99±7.35 kg, and a BMI of 27.91±2.21 in a targeted manner available were selected and randomly divided into two experimental and control groups of 20 people. The Pittsburgh Standard Questionnaire was used to assess sleep quality parameters; the VAS Pain Intensity Questionnaire was used to assess low back pain and the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire. The exercise program intervention was performed for 28 sessions for 15 minutes. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data; also, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures was used. All analyzes were performed using SPSS software v. 24.

 The results showed a significant difference between groups in sleep quality parameters such as mental quality of sleep (P=0.001), delay in falling asleep (P=0.019), duration of sleep (P=0.006), sleep efficiency and effectiveness (P=0.001), sleep disorder (P=0.016), use of sleeping pills (P=0.001), inappropriate performance during the day (P=0.002). The overall sleep quality among elderly males was P=0.001. Also, bedtime exercises can significantly affect nonspecific chronic low back pain parameters such as pain intensity (P=0.039) and disability (P=0.014) in this age group.

 Doing light exercise before bed on a light to moderate basis, according to the exercise program presented in this study, can improve the disability and reduce pain severity. This seems to be one of the most critical problems in old age, namely the quality of sleep and related parameters in the elderly male with nonspecific chronic low back pain. Therefore, it is recommended that the elderly engage in regular exercise.

 This study aimed to investigate the moderating role of resilience in the association between perceived stress and the burden of care among elderly caregivers at nursing homes in Tehran in 2016.

 In this cross-sectional, correlational study, the data were collected from 142 caregivers engaged in nursing homes in Tehran, of which 50 were men and 92 were women, through the census sampling method. Research tools included the questionnaire of perceived stress-14 (PSS-14), Cohen et al., (1983), Zarit et al. (1986) Burden of care questionnaire, and connor and davidson resilience questionnaire (2003). The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software v. 20. The significance level was set at P<0.05.

 The results showed that the average perceived stress score (35.11) was higher than the average (28). The burden of care was significantly positively associated with perceived stress (r>0 or P=0.001), and there was a negative and significant relationship between resilience and responsibility of care (β=0.110). Also, the interaction effect of perceived stress and resilience on the burden of care was negative and significant, and resilience moderated the relationship between perceived stress and care burden (P<0.001).

 According to a positive relationship between perceived stress and burden of care among elderly caregivers and the moderating effect of resilience on this relationship, governmental and non-governmental organizations in the elderly field and health policymakers should bring in the concept of resilience in their executive actions, policies, and protocols and improve it through proper training interventions. Further research is needed to study other internal and external moderating factors to improve the service quality and address the psychological, social, and physical complications of elderly caregivers.

With increasing life expectancy, aging in Iran becomes more feminine. This study aimed to prioritize the criteria affecting the health of Iranian elderly women.

 In this descriptive-analytical study, factors affecting the health of the elderly women, with the opinion of 20 health-policy and health services management experts employed in governmental and non-governmental organizations, were approved. In the second phase, the weight and rank of these criteria were calculated and analyzed using Hierarchical Analysis Process. Excel software was used to analyze data.

 The analysis showed that the individual factor is the most important in terms of factors affecting the health of elderly women. In terms of the type of interventions, the provision of preventive health services, in terms of decision-making, executive interventions at the queue level, in terms of planning, integrated approach, and continuous planning with the participation of public and private sectors were ranked first.

 Given the influence of the previous periods of life on healthy elderly, decision-makers should prioritize preventive services in all periods of life regarding age and gender context. Interventions should be presented with an integrated approach with continuous planning at the levels of government, organization, and queue, as well as with the participation of both public and private sectors. The existence of an information management system, supervision, and evaluation, provides the ground for continuous feedback and improvement of programs. Therefore, it is recommended that the government play a more significant role in ensuring the health of the elderly.

The current study was conducted to compare the perceptions of aging between young and adolescent individuals. The perception of aging is defined as the individual’s perception of one’s aging in their socio-cultural context. This concept subsumes all aspects of consciousness, perception, experience, assessment, interpretation, and cognition related to the process of aging.

This qualitative study was carried out according to the grounded theory methods in 2019 in Tehran, Iran. A total of 20 young (10 males) and 17 adolescent (8 females) participants were selected by purposive sampling, and the data were collected through semi-structured interviews until data saturation was reached. 

 121 concepts were selected, of which 83 were from interviews with adolescents and 37 from the young. After analysis and categorization of concepts, 32 subcategories were found, including 18 related to adolescents and 14 related to the young, and 5 main categories, with 3 and 2 categories   related to adolescents and the young.

In comparing the pattern of perception of old age in adolescents and young people, although in terms of frequency and semantic diversity of categories, slight differences are observed in these two groups in terms of the process of formation and movement of the final pattern, no distinction is seen between the two groups.

 The world population is rapidly aging, and depression is a common mental disorder among the elderly. This study aimed to test the causal model of depression based on spiritual and social capital through death anxiety in the elderly.

 The statistical population included all the elderly in Tehran City in 2020, from which 371 people were selected by convenience sampling. They answered online questionnaires about depression, death anxiety, and spiritual and social capital. Data were analyzed using the path analysis method using Amos software.

 The results showed that spiritual and social capital variables had an indirect and significant relationship with depression through death anxiety. The direct connection between spiritual capital and depression was not significant. But in addition to the indirect relationship, there was a significant direct relationship between social capital and depression. In other words, according to the findings, social capital was associated with depression in addition to its immediate effect on death anxiety. Still, spiritual capital had all its impact on depression through death anxiety. Also, the comparison of the model between the two groups of elderly people with and without a spouse showed that the marital status of the model does not moderate.

 Spiritual and social capital effectively predicts depression in the elderly and its direct effect through death anxiety.

 Increasing frailty syndrome is one consequence of the aging population. Frailty syndrome can adversely affect the independent life and social activities of the elderly by threatening their balance and mobility. This study aimed to investigate the effect of short-term postural-balance training on balance and functional limitations in elderly women with frailty syndrome.

The present clinical trial study was performed on 54 elderly women with frailty syndrome. Participants were randomly selected from one of the daycare centers for the elderly in Shiraz and were divided into two groups intervention (n=27) and control (n=27). For the intervention group, 12 sessions of short-term postural-balance exercises were held. Data were collected using the Fried Frailty Index, berg balance scale (BBS-9), and the survey of activities and fear of falling in the elderly (SAFE) Questionnaire at the beginning of the study and the end of the intervention and analyzed using SPSS software v. 25.

 The mean age of participants was 66.77 years, and 94.4% had at least one chronic disease. Following the intervention, there was a significant improvement in the mean scores of frailties such as physical activity, walk time, balance, and motor limitation of the elderly in the intervention group. In contrast, the intervention could not significantly affect other frailty indicators, i.e., unwanted weight loss, exhaustion, and grip strength in the intervention group

 Postural-balance exercises significantly improve the physical characteristics of malnutrition and motor and functional limitations in daily life activities in the elderly.

 Violence against the elderly is a single, repetitive act or omission of appropriate action that occurs in an interpersonal relationship and causes harm or discomfort to an elderly person. The lack of a clear definition is one of the challenges of this concept. The present study has been conducted to explain the concept, provide ab operational definition and present some empirical references to violence against the elderly with a hybrid approach.

In this study, the hybrid concept analysis method was used, which includes three steps: theoretical, field research, and analytical. In the first step, the texts were reviewed using Walker and Avant’s approach. In the second step, unstructured interviews using purposive sampling were conducted. Finally, in the third step, the perceptual analysis method was used to integrate the results of the previous two steps.

The results of the final analysis expressed the definition of violence against the disabled elderly and its components, which are violence against the disabled elderly living in the family, including a range of behaviors or actions threatening human dignity and status with or without a purpose that is applied in the living environment or related situations by family members, caregivers or others in the form of exposing the elderly to emotional-mental violence, physical violence, economic violence, sexual violence, social violence, neglect, and abandonment. It is observed as apparent or hidden, intermittent or continuous, and mild to severe. Being neglected, interactive separation, predisposing factors related to the elderly person, and predisposing factors related to the violent perpetrator lead to its occurrence and are associated with destructive personal, family, and social harms.

 The findings of this study can provide a clearer picture of the experiences of this group of elderly people who have all been exposed to violence in some way. Knowledge of the elderly’s experiences and perceptions of the phenomenon of violence leads to an increase in nurses’ awareness of this phenomenon. It reveals essential concepts in nursing, especially in the elderly.