غزاله جلالی

Given the decline in hope during period, one possible strategy for improving the quality of life in this period is hope therapy. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the effect of group hope therapy on quality of life.

A clinical trial study was performed on 56 elderly patients. Samples were randomly divided into two groups; control and intervention. The experimental group received group hope therapy for 8 sessions of 90 minutes during 4 weeks. The control group received no intervention. Quality of life scores were measured at the beginning, end and 4 weeks after the end of the study. Data were collected using "LIPAD elderly quality of life" and "Brief Psychological Status Examination". Data were analyzed by SPSS16 software using Fisher's exact test, chi-square, independent t-test, Mann-Whitney test and repeated measures.

At the beginning of the study, there was no significant difference between the mean score of quality of life in the experimental group and control group, but at the end of the intervention, between the experimental group (54.64±10.28) and the control group (38.96±12.72), and four weeks after the end of the intervention, the experimental group (52.75±8.95) and the control group (38.54±12.54) significant difference was observed (P<0.0001). The scores of all dimensions of quality of life (except social and sexual function) were significantly different in the two groups at the end and four weeks after the intervention

Health care providers, nurses and mental health professionals can use hope group therapy to increase the quality of life in the elderly.