Lifestyle assessment of older people living in Urmia 2014

Abstract

Introduction With increased life expectancy and improved health care, elderly population is growing increasingly. Common diseases of ageing have multiple physical and psychological effects on individual and family, as most of difficulties may be prevented by choosing a healthy lifestyle. Regarding to health promotion approaches amongst older people, healthy lifestyle may improve quality of life, productivity and reduce physical and mental problems. Accordingly, this study was conducted to assess the lifestyle of older people in Urmia-Iran. Methods Quantitative method was used in this descriptive- analytic study to recruit 460 older people living in their home by applying Multi- Stage Cluster Sampling. Data was collected based on healthy lifestyle assessment questionnaire (Iranian version) and analyesed by using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, t test, ANOVA. Results Demographic characteristic of the study population indicated that 58.3%of them were males. The average age of elderly was 68.74±7.67. The overall mean score of elderly lifestyles score was 146.94±10.53 and there was a meaningful diffferences among men and women (male =149.09±9.25 and femal = 143.91±11.47). Nearly all the participants (92.2%) were living with their family members. Interestingly, 66.5% were affected by chronic diseases. It was also found that two-thirds of the older people could cope with stressful situations. Conclusion It is necessary to consider appropriate interventions especially educational strategies using modern methods and educational models, to improve lifestyle and health of elderly.