جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « سالمندان » در نشریات گروه « پزشکی »

Considering the high prevalence of chronic diseases in older adults, providing care to them requires a special approach that focuses on palliative care. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the role of companionship in palliative care in older adults and identify the research gap related to it.

This scoping review study was guided by the method of Arksey and Malley. Researches on the role of companionship in palliative care in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, SID, Magiran, and Google Scholar with keywords of companion*, "palliative care" and their English and Persian equivalents were searched. based on the results of 10 studies; the consequences were categorized.

Based on the results of 10 studies included in this study, the role of companionship in palliative care can be divided into two categories of positive and negative outcomes. Positive consequences can be classified into physical, mental, spiritual, social, economic, and moral dimensions. Regarding the negative consequences, some roles were explicit, and others were implicit. The latter case indicates a gap in information that requires further study.

It is necessary for researchers to pay attention to companionship in palliative care by focusing on its consequences, especially its negative consequences. It is recommended that qualitative and interventional studies should be conducted in Iran.

Researchers can be sensitized to conduct qualitative and interventional studies to accurately investigate the role of companionship in palliative care.

Due to the development of science, life expectancy has increased and the number of elderly people in the world is growing. As such, all countries face major challenges to ensure that their health and social systems are ready to manage this demographic change. Therefore, the aim of this research was to determine the effectiveness of salutogenic empowerment based on body knowledge on the quality of life and life expectancy of the elderly with chronic diseases.

In terms of the nature of the collected data, the present research is part of quantitative studies, in terms of purpose it is part of applied studies, and in terms of method, it is part of semi-experimental designs with pre-test and post-test of several groups with a control group and with follow-up. The statistical population of the research consists of all elderly people with chronic diseases under the welfare support of Bam in 1400. The sample of the research was 40 of these elderly people who were selected in a purposeful way and randomly assigned to two groups, including the experimental group and the control group (20 people in each group). The measuring tools of the research were the health-related quality of life questionnaires of Lipad and Miller's life expectancy questionnaire. SPSS software and univariate analysis of variance test were used to analyze the data.

The results showed that salutogenic empowerment based on body knowledge has an impact on the quality of life and life expectancy of the elderly with chronic diseases.

The results indicated the effect of salutogenic empowerment based on body knowledge on the quality of life and life expectancy of the elderly with chronic diseases. Therefore, it is suggested that counselors and therapists use salutogenic empowerment training based on body knowledge to increase life expectancy and raise the quality of life of the elderly.

The changes made during old age sometimes lead to severe physical and mental deficiencies and to disability and reduced ability to deal with difficulties and common events. Psychological and physical disorders in the elderly are high due to various social exclusions, low quality of life, cognitive disorders, physical disability and physical disorders. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the lived perception of the elderly about physical health: a phenomenological study.

The method of the present study is qualitative, phenomenological. The study population is all elderly people of Khorram Abad city in 2019. The sampling method is "targeted". In order to collect data, "in-depth individual interview" was used. Data coding, recorded interviews, implementation, classification, clustering and organization were used in this study. Then, using the method of thematic analysis, the data collected based on the questions and objectives of the research, were categorized and interpreted in relation to each other, and based on that, they were divided into main and secondary contents related to the physical and mental health of the elderly. It was found.

In the data analysis and presentation of the findings, it was observed that the physical health of the elderly based on their perception, two main dimensions were extracted: physical physical, functional physical. These dimensions were extracted from seventeen main themes, which were identified for the physical component of "self-care ability, not having a chronic disease, and meeting nutritional and medical needs". In the functional physical component, these themes are "having stable relationships with others and having free time".

The results show that paying attention to the social interactions of the elderly plays an important role in their physical health, because by creating platforms for their social participation, it increases their physical strength, as well as their sense of effectiveness, usefulness and, as a result, satisfaction with their lives. strengthens

With approaching the final years of life, psychological problems in the elderly increase, and interventions are needed to solve these problems. The aim of this research was to determine the effectiveness of compassion-based therapy on the quality of life and psychological well-being of depressed elderly.

The research method was semi-experimental with experimental and control groups. The statistical population included all the elderly people of Sanandaj city in 2023. Sampling was available and 30 elderly people who got the highest score in the Beck Depression Questionnaire (1961) were selected as a sample and randomly assigned 15 people to the experimental group and 15 people to the control group by lottery. were allocated. Data collection tools were quality of life scale (1989) and psychological well-being scale (1989). Gilbert's (2007) compassionate treatment techniques intervention was applied to the experimental group in 8 2-hour sessions, and the control group did not receive any intervention during this period. The analysis of data was done with covariance analysis using SPSS version 25 software. P level less than 0.05 was considered significant.

The results of covariance analysis showed that compassion-based treatment had an effect on the quality of life and psychological well-being of depressed elderly (P<0.01). The amount of this effect, based on the squared value of Eta, was 51 percent on the increase in quality of life and 42 percent on the increase in psychological well-being.

Based on the research findings, compassion-based therapy can be used to reduce the psychological problems of depressed elderly.

Cardiovascular diseases are the most important diseases of the elderly, and recently the effect of triglyceride glucose (TYG) index as one of the indicators of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease has attracted the attention of researchers. Previous research has shown a link between insulin resistance and coronary artery calcification. Since triglyceride glucose index (TyG) is an index that is easily available, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between triglyceride index and fasting blood sugar and coronary heart disease and diabetes in the elderly of Amirkola.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on the elderly participating in the second phase of the Amirkola Health and Aging Cohort Study (AHAP). The elderly were divided into two groups of 200 people, the first group was diabetics with cardiovascular disease and the second group was diabetic elderly without cardiovascular disease. Patient information including age, sex, body mass index, diabetes, coronary artery disease, history of dyslipidemia, medications, triglycerides, fasting blood sugar, smoking habits, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, cholesterol, creatinine, physical activity, and HbA1c were collected in a checklist. The TYG index was calculated based on the LN formula [fasting triglycerides (mg/dl) × fasting glucose (mg/dl)/2]. Ultimately, SPSS version 25 software was utilized to describe the data using mean, standard deviation, and percentage. The qualitative variables were compared with the coronary artery disease using the chi-square test, while the quantitative variables were compared using the independent t-test in univariate analysis. Furthermore, the process of adjusting for confounding variables was carried out by using multivariate logistic regression.

In this study, 400 diabetic elderly participants were examined based on the relationship between triglyceride glucose index and coronary artery disease. The average age of the elderly with coronary artery disease was 70.46±6.10 and the elderly without coronary artery disease was 70.50±6.49 years. Triglyceride glucose index in diabetic elderly with and without coronary artery disease was 9.3±0.68 and 9.30±0.65, respectively, which was not statistically significant (P=0.92). Mean creatinine (P=0.004), number of comorbidities (P<0.001), and drugs consumed (P<0.001) were significantly higher in diabetic elderly with coronary artery disease. The probability of coronary artery disease in diabetic elderly with cholesterol above 200 mg/dL (OR=0.549, P=0.018) or use of antilipid drugs (OR=2.050, P=0.002) or more than three underlying diseases (356.4=OR- P=0.0001) had more. The mean cholesterol in diabetic elderly without coronary artery disease was significantly higher than that of elderly with coronary artery disease(P<0.001).

Based on the results of the study on diabetic elderly, glucose triglyceride index cannot be an independent risk factor and a suitable tool for the clinical forecast of coronary artery disease in Type 2 diabetes. Triglyceride glucose index alone cannot help in the prognosis of coronary artery disease and finally, the role of triglyceride glucose index in coronary artery diseases and various types of cardiovascular diseases needs more research.

With the improvement of the health status and increase in the quality of life, people›s life expectancy has increased and live longer than the past. Increasing life expectancy causes economic, political, and social problems, and on the other hand, the duty of the health system to protect their health is heavy. Considering the promotion of human rights, autonomy is recognized as the basic right of every individual; however change in the current technology can cause a change in the autonomy of the elderly. The present study was carried out with the aim of determining the autonomy status of hospitalized elderly.

The descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 172 elderly people hospitalized in 3 hospitals in Tehran (Labafinejad, Luqman, Modares Hospitals), who met the inclusion criteria. The data collection tool included demographic information questionnaire and autonomy questionnaire in the elderly. The data was analyzed by SPSS version 23.

Only 28.5% of people reported a good privacy situation. The highest score in this area was related to the subject of history of bathing and washing in front of other patients. 71/5% of people had an average view of compliance with informed consent, and personal health care had the highest score in this area. A significant relationship between the autonomy of the elderly with a history of hospitalization (P < 0/0001), the number of beds in the ward (P = 0/01, r = -0/191), the number of beds in each room (P = 0/003, r = -0/225) and the duration of hospitalization in the ward (P = 0/01, r = 0/184) were observed and by reducing the number of beds in the ward and each room, a better autonomy status was reported in the elderly, and with the increase in the duration of hospitalization, the status of autonomy improved.

From the point of view of most of the elderly, the status of autonomy in both dimensions was at an average level, which shows the need for the authorities in the field of treatment to pay more attention in the field of promoting and respecting the ethics and rights of the elderly in treatment environments.

To determine the effectiveness of theory-based education on self-care behaviors among the elderly in Ilam, Iran.

The study was conducted in two descriptive and semi-experimental phases among elderly. The samples were selected randomly. In the descriptive phase, 200 and in the semi-experimental phase, 140 eldrly participated in the study The educational intervention was conducted virtually during a month. The intervention data was collected in two stages using valid and reliable questionnaire and telephone interview method and analyzed using SPSS version 25 software.

The results of the descriptive stage showed that perceived benefits and self-efficacy are the strongest predictors of self-care behavior among the elderly. The results of the experimental stage showed that before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the test and control groups in the constructs of the health belief model and behavior. After the educational intervention, there was a significant difference in all variables in the test group compared to the control group and compared to before the intervention.

It seems that the health belief model can predict self-care behavior among elderly. Therefore, it is recommended to design educational interventions using the health belief model to promote self-care of the elderly.

Given the increase in aged population and the challenges and problems associated with aging, planning and policy-making to improve the quality of life of older adults is of crucial importance. This study aims to investigate the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between religiosity and psychological well-being in Iranian older adults.

This is a correlational and cross-sectional study that was conducted in 2022 in Mianeh county in East Azerbaijan province, Iran. Participants were 319 older adults (aged ≥60 years) who were selected using a convenient sampling method and based on inclusion criteria. The tools used to collect data included the Glock and Stark’s religiosity scale, the Connor-Davidson resilience scale, and Ryff psychological well-being scale. The collected data were analyzed using correlation test and path analysis in SPSS software, version 26 and LISREL software, version 2.10 applications.

The mean scores of religiosity, resilience, and psychological well-being were 56.90±26.42, 86.16±16.46, and 76.04±10.81, respectively. All correlation coefficients were significant (P<0.05 or P<0.01) and revealed that high levels of religiosity and resilience are associated with higher level of psychological well-being. Furthermore, based on the path analysis results and the obtained t values (≥1.96), all paths were significant, except for the indirect path between the “consequences” component of religiosity and psychological well-being. Therefore, the proposed model showed that the belief, emotional, and practice dimensions of religiosity had a indirect and significant relationship with psychological well-being through the of resilience. There was a positive and significant relationship between the dimensions of religiosity and resilience, as well as between resilience and psychological well-being.

The findings emphasize the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between religiosity and psychological well-being of Iranian older adults. It is recommended that authorities in Iran should pay attention to the effect of religiosity, resilience, and their education to promote the psychological well-being of older adults.

Patients with chronic kidney disease often experience various complications, one of which is uremic sarcopenia. Various factors can cause uremic sarcopenia, including monotonous diets. One of the indices used to assess nutritional quality of patients includes dietary diversity score. The present study aimed to investigate relationships between dietary diversity and sarcopenia resulted from chronic kidney diseases in elderly people.

In this case-control study, 100 chronic kidney disease patients and 100 healthy individuals aged 60–75 years were examined at Nephrology Department of Shahid Labbafi Nejad Hospital, Tehran, Iran. The control group was similar to the case group for age and gender. Demographic information and 147-item food frequency questionnaires were collected through interviews. Sarcopenia assessment was carried out based on the guidelines from the Asian Working Group. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS software.

Based on the analyses, 62% of chronic kidney disease patients did not consume vitamin D. Moreover, consumption of red meat was higher in control groups than the case group. In this study, dietary diversity score included no significant associations with sarcopenia statuses. Additionally, no significant associations were observed between the total dietary diversity score and its subgroups with sarcopenia.

In this study, no statistically significant associations were detected between the chronic kidney disease-related sarcopenia and dietary diversity scores.

Falling can have significant negative consequences on the health and quality of life of older adults. This study aims to assess the effect of online self-care education on the knowledge, attitude and practice of older adults in preventing falls at home.

This is a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test/post-test/follow-up design that was conducted on 120 people aged ≥65 years referring to comprehensive health centers in the south of Tehran, Iran, in 2021. A researcher-made questionnaire was completed by the participants before, immediately after, and three months after the intervention. The intervention was a virtual self-care educational program for fall prevention at home. Data analysis was done in SPSS software, version 26 using descriptive statistics (such as Mean±SD) and analytical tests including independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and chi-square test.

About 22% of the elderly had a history of falling in the past year. Immediately after the intervention, the mean scores of knowledge, attitude, and practice were 18.39±2.86, 14.99±2.51, and 13.76±3.1, respectively, which were significantly higher than the pre-test scores (P<0.001). Three months after the intervention, the mean scores of knowledge, attitude, and practice were 18.18±1.14, 14.91±1.57, and 9.06±2.78, respectively, which were significantly higher than the pre-test scores (P<0.001).

Online self-care education for fall prevention at home can significantly increase the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the elderly and reduce the risk of falling.

The most important reason for considering hypertension as a major health problem, especially in older adults, is its severe complications. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of hypertension complications and identify the related factors among older adults in Semnan, Iran.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 older adults with hypertension in Semnan, in January-February 2023. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire, whose content validity was confirmed based on the opinion of 10 experts (CVR=0.95 and CVI=0.98) and internal consistency was conmfired using Cronbach's alpha (α=0.895). Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage) were used to present the data. The statistical difference in hypertension complications based on the demographic and contextual factors was investigated using chi-square test. All the statistical analyses were performed in SPSS software, version 27 and P<0.05 was considered statistically significant

The mean age of participants was 68.35±5.23 years, ranged 60-94. Participants were 196 men (49%) 204 women (51%). The prevalence of hypertension complications was 26.75% in overall (95% CI: 22.42%-31.08%). Also, the prevalence of heart failure was 14.3% (95% CI:11.13%-17.47%), the prevalence of retinopathy was 7.5% (95% CI:4.92%-10.08%), the prevalence of renal failure was 5.5% (95% CI:3.27%-7.73%), the prevalence of heart attack was 4% (95% CI:2.08%-5.92%), and the prevalence of stroke was 1.5% (95% CI:0.31%-2.65%). Moreover, the prevalence of hypertension complications had a statistical relationship with age, marital status, educational level, time elapsed since the initial diagnosis, interval between the initial diagnosis and the start of treatment, the disease control, no history of receiving the necessary treatment, and receiving financial aid to cover medical expenses (P≤0.05). 

Most of older adults in Semnan suffer from serious complication of hypertension, which is related to several demographic and contextual factors. The results can help managers and policymakers in the health sector in Iran to make correct decisions and develop effective interventions for the hyspetensive elderly.

Population aging is accompanied by an increase in the elderly's demand for long-term care, which is mainly provided by family caregivers. Providing quality elderly care, while maintaining the health of caregivers, requires recognition of facilitators and the educational needs. Therefore, this study aims to investigate facilitators of elderly care at home and the educational needs of the family caregivers of older adults in the south of Tehran, Iran.

This is a qualitative study using the conventional content analysis method. To collect data, we conducted semi-structured telephone interviews. Seventeen family caregivers aged ≥18 years with at least one month of caregiving experience and at least six hours of caregiving per week were selected using purposive and snowball sampling methods until data saturation from January to April 2021. After transcribing the recorded interviews, the data were entered into the MAXQDA 2018 software and analyzed.

Personal factors included personal characteristics of caregivers, Capability in caregiving, perceived benefits of caregiving, and self-care activities of caregivers. Interpersonal factors included proper relationship with older adults, older adults’ partial  dependence on caregivers, cooperation and support of family members, and receiving others’ support. Supportive environments included physical environment, receiving support from work environments and organizations providing elderly care services. The most important educational needs of family caregivers were the needs to learn how to prepare nutritious foods for the elders, the way to nourish older adults with dysphagia, and how to move the physically disabled older adults.

Family caregivers of older adults in the south of Tehran should have access to affordable elderly care and home care services based on their educational needs that require planned support from service providers.

Fear of falling is considered an important factor in reducing the daily life activities of the elderly with diabetes. It seems that the fear of falling can play a decisive role in creating a sense of loneliness and social isolation in the elderly with diabetes by creating functional limitations and reducing the social activities of the elderly. Therefore, the direct relationship between fear of falling and social isolation and loneliness in diabetic elderly has not been investigated. The present study was conducted to determine the relationship between fear of falling social isolation and feelings of loneliness in elderly diabetics who were referred to health centers in Faridunknar City in 2023.

The current study was a descriptive-analytical study that was conducted cross-sectionally on elderly people with type 2 diabetes referring to health centers in Faridonkanar City in 2023. In this study, 398 elderly people with diabetes participated, who were selected by simple random method. The research tools included the demographic information form, the international fall efficiency scale in the elderly, the emotional and social loneliness scale of adults, and the social isolation questionnaire of the Yazdi school. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and analytical statistics such as one-way analysis of variance, independent t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression in SPSS21 software.

The mean age of the participants was 67.6±28.6 years, with more than half of them being female (66.8%). The mean scores and standard deviations of fear of falling, social isolation, and loneliness in the elderly were 51.53±11.60, 48.66±6.30, and 64.53±2.96, respectively. 94.7% of the elderly participants had severe concerns about falling. There was a significant positive relationship between the fear of falling and feelings of loneliness (r=0.389, P=0.001) and social isolation (r=0.156, P=0.002). The results of the multivariable model also showed that for each unit increase in fear of falling score, there was a 0.05 increase in social isolation score in elderly diabetic patients (P≥0.05).

The results of the present study showed that there is a significant relationship between the fear of falling and social isolation and loneliness. The more seniors are afraid of falling, the more they feel alone and socially isolated. Given that improving health in the elderly requires improving healthy lifestyles and controlling and managing psychological factors, including feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Knowing the factors related to them is considered one of the important pillars of interventions in target groups in the key concept of "healthy and successful aging ". Effective planning in this area requires full knowledge and awareness of the fear of falling in the elderly and eliminating the factors that can be related to it. For this reason, it is necessary to adopt appropriate intervention strategies to reduce the fear of falling and increase the sense of security in diabetic elderly to improve their participation and social presence.

Retirement has become an ever-increasing important topic in psychological research, which is accompanied by problems. Therefore, it is necessary to intervene in order to increase the sense of cohesion and reduce the retirement syndrome. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of examining the effectiveness of life review on the sense of coherence and retirement syndrome in older adults. This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population of the research included all the retired male teachers (60 years old and older) of Harsin, Iran in 2022. The sample of the research included 30 individuals selected using convenience sampling method and according to the study inclusion and exclusion criteria. The experimental group received Haight and Webster's life review protocol in six 90-minute sessions. The measures were Antonovsky’s sense of coherence scale and Bozorgmehri et al.’s retirement syndrome questionnaire. The data were analyzed through univariate covariance analysis (ANCOVA) in SPSS-26 software. The findings indicated that the protocol of life review has significant effectiveness in increasing the sense of coherence and reducing the retirement syndrome in older adults. As such, participants in experimental group showed a significant improvement in the sense of coherence and retirement syndrome compared to the control group. According to the empirical evidence of the positive effectiveness of the life review on the sense of coherence and retirement syndrome, it is recommended that all retirement centers and nursing homes and even families of older adults take advantages of this cost-effective and practical method.

According to the prediction of WHO and the analysis of demographic statistics, the aging phenomenon is considered one of the upcoming challenges for the Iranian society. Therefore, moving in the direction of successful aging is considered a necessity. Hence, the purpose of this research is to phenomenologically explain the successful aging in men based on their lived experiences. This research was a qualitative study, of descriptive phenomenology type using a thematic analysis technique. The research population included all older men over 60 years old living in Tehran and Karaj, Iran, among whom 18 successful older people were selected as a sample using a purposeful sampling method until theoretical saturation was reached. The data were collected using in-depth and semi-structured interviews, and the seven-step Colaizzi method was used for their analysis. The findings from the interviews were extracted and classified into five main themes (individual characteristics, social characteristics, family characteristics, self-care, and feelings of support) and 21 sub-themes. The results of this research illustrated that the successful older adults possess personal characteristics such as responsibility, commitment, patience, flexibility, sociability, purposefulness, capability and independence. Moreover, they are socially effective, socially accepted and do not feel lonely emotionally, have warm family relationships, are under the financial support of the family, have physical, spiritual, and mental self-care, feel that they are supported by the society and the government, and are also supported economically and in terms of health services. According to the results of the research, it can be concluded that physical, spiritual, mental, and psychological self-care should be taken seriously in order to have a successful aging, and there should be economic, social, and medical support for older people.

Hypertension and cognitive disorders are common problems in older adults, and their prevalence is increasing with the aging of the population. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating cognitive function in older adults with high blood pressure and older adults without high blood pressure. This study was of causal-comparative type. The statistical population included all older patients with hypertension referred to Farshchian Heart Hospital in Hamedan, Iran. In the present study, sampling was not conducted and eligible patients were examined using the census method and all eligible patients in 2021 who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study and for each patient a control person who did not have high blood pressure was selected (200 people in experimental group and 200 people in the control group). To evaluate cognitive function, Folstein et al.’s Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24 software. The results showed that cognitive impairment in older patients with high blood pressure was significantly higher than in those without high blood pressure. Moreover, cognitive impairment was significantly higher in women and patients living in rural areas, in divorced and widowed patients, and in patients with high blood pressure with a history of diabetes and stroke. This indicates the effects of high blood pressure on brain function. According to the results, it is necessary to design and implement treatment protocols for older adults with high blood pressure to improve their cognitive function.

Considering the rapid aging process of the population, it seems necessary to investigate important factors in the formation and control of depression. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-criticism and loneliness with depression in older adults through the mediating role of rumination. This was a descriptive research with the structural equation modeling (SEM) method. The statistical population consisted of all people over 60 living in Shahryar and Quds nursing homes in Karaj, Iran, 2022-2023, among whom 195 people (119 women, 76 men) were selected using convenience sampling method. In order to collect information, Nolen Hoeksma and Maro’s rumination, Thomson and Zarav’s self-criticism, Russell et al.’s loneliness, and Beck’s depression questionnaires were used. SEM was used to test the hypotheses. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS-24 and Smart-PLS 3.2.8. The findings indicated that there is a positive and significant relationship between internal and comparative self-criticism and depression, as well as between rumination and depression, but the relationship between loneliness and depression did not reach significance level, and rumination plays a mediating role in the relationship between inner self-criticism and loneliness with Depression. According to the results of the present study, psychologists are recommended to train the techniques of controlling and stopping rumination, and self-critical thoughts in the treatment of depression in older adults, so that the loneliness of older adults may not lead them to feel depresssion.

One of the sensitive periods of life is aging, associated with a wide range of physiological and psychological changes. In recent years, the care of older adults has undergone changes, and a number of older people live in nursing homes, which have unique challenges and characteristics. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine the experience of older adults in nursing homes. This was a qualitative study with a phenomenological method. The statistical population of the present study included all older adults living in nursing homes in Tehran, Iran. Using the purposive sampling method, we continued recruiting until reaching the saturation stage. Finally, 11 people were recruited as the sample group. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed with Colaizzi’s 7-step method. The findings of the research were categorized in three categories: (1) identifying the challenges and problems of older adults in nursing homes, with three main themes and 13 sub-themes, (2) identifying effective factors and solutions to improve the quality of life of older adults, with three main themes and 10 sub-themes, and (3) hope and prospects for the future, with one main theme and two sub-themes. According to the obtained results, it can be concluded that older adults living in nursing homes have special conditions and characteristics, making it necessary to take measures to increase the quality of life of older adults living in nursing homes according to the suggestions of the present research.

Self-esteem as a predictor of physical and mental health is affected by social factors. People in old age limit their relationships with family members and friends; nonetheless, it is not clear which members of the social network affect the self-esteem of people in old age. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the relationship between perceived social support and self-esteem of the elderly residents of Khorramabad in 2023.

In this descriptive-analytical study, 340 older adults aged 60 years and older in Khorramabad were selected via random cluster sampling method. Research data were collected using demographic information form, abbreviated mental test score, Zimet perceived social support questionnaire, and Rosenberg self-esteem questionnaire. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 22) using independent t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and linear regression.

The mean age score of participants was 69.51±7.55 years; 175 (51.5%) cases were female; and 235 (69.1%) subjects were married. The results of the study demonstrated that the variable of total social support, social support of family and friends, had a direct and significant relationship with self-esteem (P<0.001). In addition, there was a significant relationship between education and self-esteem (P<0.001).

Perceived social support from family and friends plays a key role in older adults' self-esteem, especially the lonely ones. It is recommended that older adults and families protect and develop their family relationships and friendships to have better mental health.

One of the common problems of old age is cognitive disorders that seriously affect the daily life of the elderly. This research was conducted with the aim of the effectiveness of perceptual-motor exercises on the working memory of elderly women with mild cognitive impairment who use drugs.

This research was practical and with a semi-experimental method with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of elderly women over 65 years of age with mild cognitive impairment, drug users and inactive residents of nursing homes in Tehran. 30 elderly people living in one of the nursing homes were selected based on the inclusion criteria and randomly divided into two groups of 15 people, experimental and control. Participants completed Folstein Cognitive Status and Wechsler Memory questionnaire. The control group did their daily activities. The experimental group participated in the perceptual-motor training program three sessions a week for eight weeks. Both groups took their medicines regularly. After the training program, both groups completed the Wechsler Memory questionnaire again. Univariate analysis of covariance and SPSS version 20 software were used for data analysis (P≤0.05).

The results of the statistical analysis after the training intervention showed a significant improvement in the post-test scores of the experimental group in the working memory variable (P=0.009) compared to the control group.

According to the results of the research, it is suggested to the elderly and managers of nursing homes to use perceptual-motor exercises in order to improve cognitive health, according to their individual ability and environmental facilities.