Effect of Health Education program on Aging Changes and Problems regarding Acceptance, Adaptation and Coping, among Older Adult People in white Nile state- Sudan

Abstract

Abstract Background:. Aging of the population is among the phenomena of greatest impact globally during the 21st century. The increase of people 60 years old and above is partly due to birth control and increased life expectancy at birth. Projections indicate that by 2050, one in every five inhabitants in the planet will be an older adult. Accepting the changes that appears during aging implies a series of adaptations by the older adult, such as modifications of health behaviors and at the same time staying socially connected. Nursing can help older adults to face aging well, particularly those enduring chronic diseases. Methodology: This is an intervention quasi study (pre-/ post test design) , attempts to establish cause – effect relationship between health education program and older adults’s health awareness and practices level regarding activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). Was conducted among older people's in Al-Gardood area ,White Nile state. (2017). The sample size consisted of (103) (pre-educational program) and 88 (posteducational program), during the period from April to July 2017. Data was collected using, Katz , Lawton and spices models used for activities of daily living . The collected data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: Results showed highly significant statistical association between activities dependent level and the study group (p value= 0.00). The Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) after educational program showed high statistical significant improvement (P ≤ 0.010) on overall score. Results found a significant statistical association between Sleep Disorders, Problems with eating or feeding and the study group with high (p value= 0.01, 0.02) respectively. The study found that no significant statistical association between Incontinence, confusion and the study group (p value= 0.98, 0.63) respectively. The study found that the most common diseases among respondents were cataracts (66%), Osteoarthritis (60.2%), diabetes (43.7%), Benign prostatic hyperplasia (58.3%) and Alzheimer disease and other dementias (15.5%).IV Conclusion: The current findings strongly support the view that a educational programs applied to elderly people and their family members seems to improve their performance on their ADLs and IADLs ,thereby improving the elderly functional independence. Accordingly the researcher recommended that Ministry of health, social affairs and medical and nursing colleges should conduct community campaign concerning with raising health awareness about aging and elderly care