| Research background and purpose:The rapid growth of the elderly population in China has brought prominent health problems for the elderly.Therefore,this study aims to revise tools suitable for investigating the lifestyle of elderly people,investigate the current situation of lifestyle of elderly people in the community,and explore the effect of group intervention activities on improving the lifestyle of elderly people in the community.Materials and methods:Using a convenient sampling method,a sample of 447 elderly people in Sichuan Province was selected.The Rasch model was used to revise the Chinese version of health enhancement lifestyle profile-screener(HELP-CS),and the reliability and validity analysis was conducted using classical measurement theory.A questionnaire was used to survey 214 older adults in a Sichuan community about their lifestyles,and an interview was used to interview 20 older adults about their lifestyles.Based on the survey and interview results,group intervention activities were designed with the advice of relevant experts in combination with previous studies.A randomized controlled trial was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of group intervention activities among the older adults in the community.Forty community-dwelling older adults were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups,where the intervention group underwent group intervention activities once a week for 8 weeks and the control group lived a regular life.The status of lifestyle,physical,psychological and social indicators of the older adults was collected at baseline and at week 12 after the end of the intervention,respectively.A secondary interview was also conducted with the older adults who participated in the intervention to understand the experience of the intervention activities and their feasibility.Results:1.The HELP-CS scale has good adaptability and reliability among the elderly in the Sichuan area.2.The results of the questionnaire survey showed that the mean score of lifestyle of the elderly in the Sichuan community was 9.77±2.57.There were significant differences in the lifestyle of the elderly in the Sichuan community in terms of age,education level,children’s situation,economic situation,health self-assessment,and chronic diseases.Older adults had higher response rates for topics related to self-care,exercise,avoidance of smoking and drinking,and indiscriminate use of medication.Correlation analysis showed that lifestyle scores of older adults in the community were significantly and negatively correlated with depression(r=-0.30,p<0.01),loneliness(r=-0.20,p<0.01),and quality of life(r=-0.20,p<0.01).Quality of life was significantly positively correlated(r=0.21,p<0.01);elderly lifestyle score was significantly positively correlated with social support(r=0.30,p<0.01)and with elderly social participation(r=-0.45,p<0.01).The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that the influencing factors for the lifestyle of elderly people in Sichuan communities included economic status,grip strength,educational level,social support,and social participation(p<0.05).3.The results of interviews on the current situation of lifestyle show that the majority of elderly people exercise by walking slowly;The interests and hobbies of the elderly are relatively single;The elderly have insufficient awareness of stress and fewer ways to cope with it;The elderly have a high willingness to participate in activities,but they are less willing to actively seek information about activities.Most elderly people say they have good interpersonal relationships,but they also feel a lack of friends.Older people actively seek health information,but it is difficult to distinguish the correctness of the information.4.There were no significant differences in lifestyle,physical,psychological and social indicators between the two groups at the pre-intervention baseline assessment.The post test data showed statistically significant differences(p<0.05)between the scores of the intervention and control groups on two indicators of loneliness and social support,with the scores of loneliness in the intervention group being significantly lower than those in the control group and the scores of social support in the intervention group being significantly higher than those in the control group.The differences between the intervention and control groups in HELP-CS,BMI,grip strength value,GDS-15,SF-12,and social participation scores were not statistically significant(p>0.05).5.The interview results of group intervention activities show that elderly people believe that intervention activities have enriched their lives,expanded their social scope,and increased relevant knowledge about sports,nutrition,mental health,etc;However,knowledge based information is slow to digest and easy to forget.Conclusions:1.The HELP-CS scale has good adaptability and reliability in the community elderly,and can be used in the study of the lifestyle of the elderly.2.Significant differences exist in the lifestyle scores of the elderly in the Sichuan community in terms of age,education level,children’s situation,economic situation,health self-assessment,and number of chronic diseases.The factors influencing the lifestyles of older adults in the Sichuan community included economic status,grip strength,literacy,social support,and social participation.The lifestyles of older adults in the Sichuan community performed better in exercise,self-care,and avoidance of bad habits and poor in stress coping,group activities,and in-depth learning of nutrition knowledge.3.Group activity intervention can effectively reduce the level of loneliness and improve the level of social support of the community elderly.The group activity lifestyle intervention had a positive impact on the older adults in the community.Respondents subjectively perceived some improvement in physical,psychological and social health.In order to obtain better results and wide replication of the intervention,the duration,frequency,and content of the intervention need to be adjusted and reasonably designed in the light of the actual situation. |
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