The Effect of Psychoeducation on Quality of Life and Dependency in Elderlies

Introduction: Quality of life and dependency are two important issues in elderly population. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the elderly psychoeducation on their quality of life and dependency in a day care center in Iran.   Methods: A pre-post interventional design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a psychoeducation program on a convenient sample of 130 elderlies with randomized control group. Intervention procedure included a healthcare package which contained healthy lifestyle education, memory telling sessions, physical education, prayer meetings, art workshops and arranging excursions, all of which was delivered within 3 months. Quality of life short form (SF-12) and Lawton index of  instumental activities of daily living (IADL) were assessed at baseline, after one month and three months later by a trained research coordinator. Covariance analysis was used to examine the effectiveness of the elderly psychoeducation on their psychophysical quality of life and their IADL status.   Results: The mean score of physical quality of life at pretest in the experimental group was 35.70  ±8.80. These score,were 38.53 ± 8.32 and 39.27 ± 7.80 in the first and second posttestrespectively. In terms of psychological quality of life, the mean of pretest score in the experimental group was 41.59 ± 9.47. It was 43.26 ± 9.09 and 47.19 ± 8.98 in the first and second post-test but in the control group the mean had decreased. The mean score of IADL in pretest for the experimental group was 9.98 ± 2.56 in the post-test it was 10.49 ± 2.31and 10.69 ± 2.34 in the first and second post-test, respectively.   Conclusion: These results suggest that psychoeducation for elderlies had a significant positive effect on psycho-physical quality of life and dependency. Therfore,  psychoeducation can be helpful in day care centers.