Does self-management education for elderly people with chronic diseases improve their quality of life?

Abstract

Improving living conditions has led to an increase in life span and life expectancy in older people.1 As elderly age increases, there will be some changes in their various dimensions of health, including physical, mental, rational and various diseases.2 Chronic diseases are limited elderly’s activities due to health, social and psychological problems, and reduce their quality of life.3 At present, chronic illness accounts for 60% of all deaths worldwide, causing a heavy burden on society and health services.4 Although these diseases are not directly lethal, it can be a threat to the quality of life of individuals and lead to early and severe disabilities.5 The most common problem affecting the health and quality of life of the elderly, which leads to their dependence on others, is functional disabilities.6 Chronic diseases include: hypertension, diabetes mellitus, joint disease, eye diseases, lung diseases, kidney disease, depression, stroke and a variety of cancers. The findings indicate that a major contribution to the care of the elderly is related to their inadequate education. Training is one of the most effective interventions in all levels of prevention. Of course, such training should be based on acquiring accurate knowledge and understanding of the patient’s educational needs.1 Since the one of the roles of geriatric nursing is the role of education in the field of aging needs and on the basis of its particular considerations, educational interventions can be considered as an important factor for promoting health and improving the quality of life of the in elderly.2 Based on the milestone of qualitative studies, self-management programs support individuals for managing their symptoms and their illness, as well as emotional and daily outcomes associated with chronic disease. Selfmanagement models promote health outcomes and reduce health care costs. However, these principles are rarely used in the visual & sight services.7 Also according to the importance of the issue and the limited number of studies on the impact of self-management education program on quality of life, The present study with aim of scrutiny the studies conducted in the field of elderly self-management education programs and its effects on improving the quality of life associated with their chronic illnesses were conduct through review of the articles