Evaluation of Effective Motivators and Barriers of Physical Activity in the Elderly

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine barriers and motivators of physical activity in older adults. Methods & Materials: In this cross sectional study 153 older adults were participated through classified randomized clustering method. The questionnaires were completed in face to face interview. Descriptive statistics and U Mann Whitney test were used to analyzing data. Results: Main motivators of physical activity were: independence, self efficiency, prevention of fatigue, purchasing, sense of authority and necessity of exercise for elderly that all of them are health related factors. Main barriers were chronic disease, handicap and pain. Men show higher grade in recreational, physical environment and social factor as motivator (P value in orderly 0.000, 0.003 and 0.022). Women have greater barrier in health related factor and social environment (P-value in orderly 0.000 and 0.022). Conclusion: Based on our findings, the best way for extension of physical activity is introducing their effect on physical, mental and cognitive health. For reducing barriers the most important plan is presenting elderly specific exercise programs with experts

Health Status of Iranian Older People: A Demographical Analysis

Objectives: To explain the physical and mental health of older people based on their demographic variables. Methods & Materials: A correlation design conducted through logistic regression. A demographic page and the Short Form (36) Health survey were administered by trained interviewers to 250 participants in Tehran, Iran in 2012. Participants were recruited based on a classified multi stage sampling procedure. Results: Compared to women, men had better physical health. Low-income elderly had lower score in general, physical and mental health. Elderly living at home or with an extended family did not face the same general and physical health in comparison with their peers at nursing homes, though their mental health was similar. Marriage provided general, physical and mental health benefits for elderly whereas, high level of education were associated with physical and mental health. Being caregiver was related to better physical health while having caregiver was associated with better mental health. Age, income and education predicted both physical and mental health. Sex, mental health, marital status, being caregiver and having caregiver predicted physical health while physical health predicted mental health. All studied variables except sex and mental health predicted significantly place of residence. Conclusion: Demographic variables predict health status of older people like other mental and physical variables. Policy makers should focus on variables predicting health status of elderly to have successful ageing in future

The Effect of Group Counseling

Objectives: The main objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of narrative therapy and group counseling on depression and loneliness among elderly women. Methods: This is a quasi experimental research method using post-test design with a control group. 24 women were selected from all the elderly women referring to Iranian Alzheimer&rsquo;s Association in 2012 through randomized sampling method and have been assigned to experiment and control groups. The tools for assessing depression and loneliness were the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Loneliness questionnaire. The experiment group had eight 90 minute sessions of group counseling narrative therapy which took place once a week. The collected data have been statically analyzed using independent&nbsp; t-test in SSPS-19. Results: The findings showed that there is a significant difference between the mean scores of the experiment and control group and it can be argued that employing narrative therapy group counseling was influential in reducing depression and loneliness (P<0.01). Discussion: The effect of group counseling narrative therapy on reducing depression and loneliness of elderly women has been confirmed by the results of this study. Based on the findings, conducting narrative therapy group counseling is strongly recommended in health care organizations for the elderly people