Tayebeh Abdollahi, Nasibeh Zanjari, Yadollah Abolfathi Momtaz , Ahmad Delbari,
Volume 18, Issue 1 (5-2021)
Abstract
Background: According to the World Health Organization, aging anxiety decrease life expectancy and causes disease in old age. Negative attitude towards the older adults is a major factor associated with aging anxiety. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the relationship between attitudes towards the older adults and fear of aging in the health care providers of Social Security Organization’s hospitals in Mazandaran province in 2018.
Methods: We conducted the present cross-sectional study on 232 health care providers of hospitals of Social Security Organization in Mazandaran province in 2018, selected them by stratified random sampling according to the job categories, and included them in the study. We utilized the Anxiety about Aging Scale (AAS) by Lasher and Faulkender and Kogan's Attitude toward Old People Scale (KAOPS) to collect data. We analyzed the data in SPSS16 using Pearson correlation, independent t-test, and one-way analysis of variance.
Results: The participants' mean age was 37.85±6.40 years and the mean of aging anxiety was 67.90±10.60. Among the four subscales of aging anxiety, the highest fear was related to "fear of loss" (23.7±4.5) and then "fear of physical appearance" (21.25±4.65), and the lowest was related to "fear of the older people " (10.12± 3.25). Despite the slightly higher mean aging anxiety among nursing and midwifery staff than medical staff, it was not statistically significant. Findings indicated that aging anxiety had a negative and significant relationship with attitudes towards the older adults in health care providers (r=0.35, P=0.001).
Conclusion: Given the high aging anxiety in health care providers and its importance in providing services for the older adults as well as the quality of their old age, we suggest promoting the health care providers’ positive attitudes towards the older adults through in-service training courses.
Ahmad Delbari , Mariye Jenabi Ghods, Mohammad Saatchi, Mohammad Bidkhori, Fatemeh-Sadat Tabatabaei, Mahshid Foroughan, Elham Hooshmand,
Volume 21, Issue 2 (6-2024)
Abstract
Background: Depression and anxiety are the most frequent and devastating mental diseases among older adults. Several variables are identified as contributing to the development of these illnesses. The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and their related factors in older individuals residing in Ardakan.
Methods: The current cross-sectional study was based on the data obtained from the first phase of the Ardakan aging cohort of 5176 older adults. Depression and anxiety were evaluated using CESD-10 and HADS-A scales, respectively. Moreover, the relationships between these outcomes and the related factors were evaluated using the logistic and linear regression.
Results: The prevalence of depression and anxiety was estimated to be about 17% and12%, respectively. Poor perception of health) OR=2.29, CI95% 1.79 to 2.93), Low perceived economic status (OR=2.11, CI95% 1.71 to 2.60), Receiving care (OR=1.66, CI95% 1.39 to 1.97), affecting by neurological disease (OR=1.37, CI95% 1.11 to 1.69), Gastrointestinal diseases (OR=1.48, CI95% 1.23 to 1.77) were significantly associated with the presence of depression. Female gender, Poor perception of health and economic status, receiving, and providing care, and suffering from neurological, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and respiratory diseases were related to higher anxiety scores.
Conclusion: The prevalence of depression and anxiety among the participants was relatively significant, and these variables were significantly correlated with several factors, including health and economic status and receiving/providing care. These findings highlight the significance of taking into account several socio-economic, health-related, and gender-specific aspects when dealing with mental health disorders including depression and anxiety in this particular age demographic. By identifying the risk factors, healthcare professionals can better target interventions and support systems to manage and mitigate the effect of these mental health disorders.
