Department of Nursing, SGRD College of Nursing, SGRD University of Health Sciences Amritsar, Punjab, India.
Department of Nursing, Guru Teg Bahadur College of Nursing, Jandiala Guru, Amritsar, Punjab, India.
Ann Afr Med. 2024 Apr 1;23(2):140-148. doi: 10.4103/aam.aam_139_23. Epub 2024 May 1.
Changing lifestyles, health care, growing age, and life expectancy have contributed to the occurrence of old age in communities. The elderly population are rising who are aged 60 or older in the present scenario. They are more prone to psychosocial problems such as stress, loneliness, low self-esteem, and anxiety. These problems impact their psychological health.
This cross-sectional study was conducted at selected communities of Amritsar, Punjab. A total of 200 older adults were involved using the purposive sampling technique. Data were collected using a predesigned sociodemographic pro forma and a five-point Likert scale to assess psychosocial problems among the elderly. The data collection method employed was interviewed. In the psychosocial problems assessment tool, a total of 35 items were included, which were further categorized as follows: no psychosocial problem (0-35), mild psychosocial problem (36-70), moderate psychosocial problem (71-105), and severe psychosocial problem (106-140).
The average age of the older adults was 69.31 ± 6.63 years, 65.5% were males and 34.5% were females. Regarding psychosocial problems, 69% had moderate, 16% had mild, 10.5% severe, and 4.5% had no problems. The median score was 90 (18). The median score was 17.50 (7) for stress, 38 (17.75) for loneliness, 18 (7.75) for anxiety, and 14 (7) for self-esteem. All the four domains, stress, loneliness, anxiety, and self-esteem, had a statistically significant relationship (P < 0.01). A statistically significant association was found between self-esteem, type of family, and anxiety with educational level.
The study concluded that older adults in communities have significant psychosocial problems such as stress, loneliness, self-esteem, and anxiety. Collaboratively, health professionals, local community leaders, and social workers can formulate and execute a health awareness campaign to avoid these issues that cause the aged much anguish.
生活方式的改变、医疗保健的进步、人口老龄化和预期寿命的延长导致社区中老年人的增加。目前，60 岁及以上的老年人数量不断增加。他们更容易出现心理社会问题，如压力、孤独、自尊心低和焦虑。这些问题会影响他们的心理健康。
本横断面研究在旁遮普邦阿姆利则的选定社区进行。总共使用目的抽样技术纳入了 200 名老年人。使用预先设计的社会人口学表格和五分制李克特量表收集数据，以评估老年人的心理社会问题。采用访谈的方法进行数据收集。在心理社会问题评估工具中，共包括 35 个项目，进一步分为以下几类：无心理社会问题（0-35）、轻度心理社会问题（36-70）、中度心理社会问题（71-105）和重度心理社会问题（106-140）。
老年人的平均年龄为 69.31 ± 6.63 岁，其中 65.5%为男性，34.5%为女性。关于心理社会问题，69%的人有中度问题，16%有轻度问题，10.5%有重度问题，4.5%没有问题。中位数评分为 90（18）。压力的中位数评分为 17.50（7），孤独的中位数评分为 38（17.75），焦虑的中位数评分为 18（7.75），自尊的中位数评分为 14（7）。压力、孤独、焦虑和自尊这四个领域均与统计学显著相关（P<0.01）。自尊、家庭类型和焦虑与教育水平之间存在统计学显著关联。
研究得出结论，社区中的老年人存在明显的心理社会问题，如压力、孤独、自尊和焦虑。卫生专业人员、当地社区领袖和社会工作者可以共同制定和执行一项健康意识运动，以避免这些给老年人带来痛苦的问题。
