مجله سلامت و سالمندی خزر
سال ششم شماره 2 (پاییز و زمستان 1400)

Decreased balance and the ability to contract muscle are associated with the contractile strength of the respiratory muscles, discussed in the elderly. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Pilates training on pulmonary function and balance in inactive elderly women.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 34 inactive elderly women with a mean age of 62 ± 2.5 years, height of 160.6 4 4.51 and weight of 67.70 4 4.60 kg. Participants were randomly divided into experimental (n=17) and control (n=17) groups. The experimental group practiced 3 sessions per week for 8 weeks. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to ensure that the data were normal, and paired t-test and analysis of variance were applied to analyze intra-and inter-group findings, respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22 at a significant level of P≤0.05.

The results of the present study showed that static and dynamic balance in the post-test compared to the pre-test was significantly reduced in the experimental group (P = 0.001). Moreover, the findings indicated that Pilates exercises on static (P = 0.04) and dynamic balance (P = 0.00) had a significant effect on the post-test of the experimental group compared to the control group. However, no significant change was observed in the indices of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) (P ≥0.05).

It seems that Pilates can improve static and dynamic balance in elderly women and as an adjunct therapy can be effective as well as a suitable and low-cost alternative in improving balance and reducing falls.

Nursing students can play a major role in transmitting infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of nursing students in observing hand hygiene.

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 200 nursing students participated in an internship at Fatemeh Zahra (PBUH) Nursing School in Ramsar in 2019. The sampling method was simple random. The hand hygiene behavior of nursing students was observed in 200 situations. For data collection, the observational checklist of hand hygiene of the Ministry of Health was used. Data were analyzed using SPSS18 through descriptive statistics, Chi-square and T-test.

Among 200 students, 113 (56.5%) and 87 (43.05%) were female and male, respectively. The average number of cases of hand hygiene was 62.5%. The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between different semesters in relation to hand hygiene behavior (P <0.05). Thus, the rate of hand hygiene compliance by students was lower in higher semesters. The highest rate of hand hygiene (37.6%) was performed in the position after contact with the patient. Handwashing with soap and water (60.8%) was done more frequently by the students than using an alcoholic solution (39.2%).

The results indicate that the higher the semester of students was the lower the level of hand hygiene. It is suggested that further studies should be conducted on nursing students in order to determine the causes and find practical solutions to promote hand hygiene among students and to teach them basic values.

One of the important and effective strategies to promote the comprehensive health of the elderly is the establishment of elderly-friendly hospitals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics and components of elderly-friendly hospitals and its role and importance in promoting the health of the elderly.

This review study was conducted through searching Irandoc, SID, PubMed, Magiran, Google Scholar, Scopus and SienceDirect without time limitation and focused on Elderly, Hospital, Elderly-Friendly Hospital and Senior Friendly Hospital (in English and Persian). In the initial search, 45 articles were found. After reviewing the inclusion and exclusion criteria, finally 28 articles were included in the study based on their relevance to the subject.

The design of the physical environment of the hospitals was not completely based on principles and components of the elderly-friendly Hospitals and elderly client's conditions and needs. In most hospitals, care and services provided to the elderly were not based on elderly -friendly principles, and medical staff did not receive the necessary training in the field of geriatric care, and there were no specialists in geriatrics in most of these centers.

In order to achieve elderly-friendly health care in hospitals, it seems necessary to apply strategies and make changes in various aspects of management, support, supervision and optimization policies, staff training and physical environment.

The immune etiology is complex and it can affect both arms of the immune system and lead to poor vaccination response, increased infection rate and malignancy in the elderly. Regular exercise activity has been associated with increased immune function and it may be useful as a simple lifestyle intervention to counteract the damaging effects of the immune system. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the physiological effects of exercise on changes in each component of the innate and acquired immune system during old age.

In the present study, by examining the databases of Pupmed, SID, Google Scholar, Springer, studies related to the effect of exercise on the immune system of the elderly were selected. The contents of the articles were summarized and reported.

Some of the positive effects of exercise on the elderly included increased response to vaccination, decreased circulatory inflammatory mediators, increased phagocytic activity of neutrophils, less inflammatory responses to bacteria, decreased aging old T cells, increased T cell proliferation, reduced number of circulating monocytes, increased function of Tregs, increased number of anti-inflammatory Tregs and increased telomere length of leukocytes.

Taken together, these findings suggested that exercise regulated the immune system and may delay the onset of immunosenescence. Moreover, exercise-training studies on "unhealthy" individuals such as cancer survivors as well as obese and HIV-positive people reported the positive effects of exercise on healthy. Therefore, exercise may help reduce immunosenescence in people who are at risk.

The presence of meaning in the lives of the elderly promotes psychological health and well-being and is a factor for adapting to this period in the face of stress and the experience of numerous physical and mental problems. Hence, the aim of this study was to consider mediating role of the meaning of life in the relationship between mental health and psychological well-being of the elderly in 2021.

In this descriptive correlational study, the statistical population included the elderly present in nursing homes in Golestan province in 2021. In this study, 234 people were selected using simple random sampling based on Krejcie and Morgan table. They completed the psychological well-being scale (Ryff), Mental Health scale (Najarian & Davoodi) and Meaning of Life scale (Steger et al.). Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling using SPSS 22 and Lisrel 8.8.

The results indicated that the fit indices of the research model were in good condition (GIF=0/96). Mental health had a direct effect on psychological well-being (0/025)and meaning of life (0/026) as well as the meaning of life had a direct effect on psychological well-being (0.19). Moreover, the hypothesis was confirmed the indirect effect of mental health on the psychological well-being of the elderly through the meaning of life (0.04).

Based on the results, it is suggested that mental health experts and engaged people in the field of aging should try to increase the psychological well-being of the elderly by taking measures to promote mental health and empower the elderly in order to achieve a successful semantic system, then higher well-being.

Aging is a process that all living organisms including humans experience, so special attention and prevention of disorders such as sleep quality and death anxiety in the elderly is very important. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapy on sleep quality and death anxiety in the elderly with hypertension.

The research method was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design with control group. The statistical population included all the elderly with hypertension in Kermanshah in 2021.The sample size consisted of 30 elderly people who were selected by available sampling method according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study. The experimental group received 8 90-minute sessions, and the control group was placed on a waiting list for training. The instruments used in this study included the Petersburg Sleep Quality Questionnaire and Cult-Leicester Death Anxiety Questionnaire. Data were analyzed by univariate analysis of covariance in SPSS 25.

The results showed that the experimental group was significantly different from the control group in terms of both sleep quality and death anxiety. In other words, acceptance- and commitment-based therapy improved sleep quality and reduced death anxiety in the elderly (P<0.05).

According to the results of the current study, therapists and health professionals can use mindfulness-based therapy for health-related interventions, especially to improve sleep quality and reduce death anxiety.

Sleep affects physical and mental health, and major changes occur in the pattern and structure of sleep with increasing age. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare psychological well-being, cognitive impairment, physical activity and coping styles in the elderly with and without sleep disorders.

This causal comparative study was performed on 40 elderly men and women in Zanjan in 2020. Data were collected using Ryff Psychological Welfare Questionnaire, Endler and Parker Coping Styles Scale, CHAMPS Physical Activity Questionnaire, Cognitive Impairment Scale and Petersburg Sleep Quality Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS through multivariate analysis of variance.

The results showed that there was a significant difference between the elderly with and without sleep disorders in cognitive impairment components including inadvertent mistakes (F=11.403), memory (F=12.596) and distraction (F=6.335) problems, problem-oriented (F=7.055), emotion-oriented (F=12.788) and avoidant (F=5.272) coping styles, high physical activity variables (F=9.929) and moderate physical activity (F=4.433) (P˂0.05). Moreover, the results indicated that 44% of the variance related to the difference between the two groups was due to dependent variables.

Due to cognitive impairments and negative coping styles of the elderly with sleep disorders, it is recommended that some interventions should be established in nursing homes and psychological service centers to increase the elderly’s cognitive ability and teach coping skills to them.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has a significant effect on the elderly and affects all aspects of human psychology. The current study was conducted on people >60 years of age and a religious or ethnic minority. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between COVID-19 anxiety with sleep quality and death anxiety in the Zoroastrian elderly population in Yazd.

The population of the multivariate correlation study was 97 elderly Zoroastrians in 2021. The data collection tools were the Templer death anxiety scale, COVID-19 anxiety questionnaire and Petersburg sleep quality index. Data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS through Pearson correlation and structural equations.

The results showed that the mean scores of COVID-19 anxiety, death anxiety and sleep quality were 29.9±9.40, 5.40±4.55 and 8.88±2.29, respectively. The direct effect of COVID-19 anxiety on sleep quality (β=0.303 and P<0.05) and death anxiety on sleep quality (β=0.439 and P<0.001) was statistically significant. There was a positive and significant relationship between COVID-19 anxiety with death anxiety and sleep quality (P<0.01). COVID-19 anxiety and death anxiety, in total, showed 39% of the variance in sleep quality variables.

The elderly participants had high COVID-19 anxiety, moderate death anxiety and poor sleep quality, and the sleep quality decreased with increasing COVID-19 anxiety and death anxiety. Thus, it is necessary to take appropriate interventions to reduce COVID-19 anxiety and death anxiety in the elderly in order to increase the quality of sleep and health of the elderly in this period.