Effectiveness of the program "Improving communication skills of ambassadors of household health" on stress coping skills in rural elderly in Malekan

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Stress and illness are closely related; Studies show that  to  percent of illnesses are related to stress. Due to the special problems of this period of life, the elderly need more comfort, stress control and social support. Considering the role of self-care in reducing stress and its role in opening a new and positive emotional outlook on life, in the present study we tried to educate household health ambassadors about stress management skills based on effective communication and application of these skills in communication With family and the elderly, determine its effectiveness in managing stress in the elderly. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study of before and after, which was performed by pre-test and post-test with intervention and control groups.  rural health centers that had the highest index in terms of non-communicable diseases were selected and from each center, one health house was randomly selected as the intervention group and the farthest house was compared to it in terms of variables such as gender, age. , The prevalence of non-communicable diseases, etc. and confounding variables were similar as the control group, we considered, so that the data are matched. About  people from each health house and a total of  people from  villages were selected and  people were assigned to each group. Data collection tools were demographic questionnaire, Cohen Stress Perception Questionnaire (PSS-) and Kalzbeck Stress Management Questionnaire (CISS-).The technique used in the training was to increase effective communication skills and to acquire and apply it by ambassadors in relation to the elderly.The training program was designed and conducted in the form of  training sessions. Results:  elderly people participated in this study. The mean age of the intervention group was  and the control group was . The results showed a significant decrease in the perceived stress of the elderly in the intervention group, compared to before the study, and the mean score of perceived stress (Mean ± SE) changed from  to  ( p = ). In addition, there was a statistically significant decrease in the perceived stress of the intervention group compared to the control group, which changed from  to  (p = ). Also, a statistically significant increase was observed in the mean score of coping with stress in the intervention group, in the problem-oriented coping dimension (p = ) and avoidance dimension (p = ) compared to before the intervention. But there were no significant changes in emotion-oriented coping compared to the beginning of the study (p = ). Compared to the control group, no significant changes were observed in the rate of problem-oriented coping (p = ), emotion-focused coping (p = ) and avoidance (p=) after the intervention.

Conclusion: The program "Increasing the communication skills of household health ambassadors" is effective on coping skills with stress in rural elderly and helps reduce stress in them. Keywords: Perceived stress, Coping with stress, Effective communication Health communication Elderly