Tanaz Mehrab-Mohseni , Shahzad Pashaeypoor , Shima Nazari , Farshad Sharifi
Background:
Self-care is an indicator of power and independence among older adults. Family can increase older adults’ motivation and desire for engagement in self-care activities. This study aimed to determine the effects of self-care education based on the family-centered empowerment model (FCEM) on functional independence and life satisfaction among community-dwelling older adults.
Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on ۱۲۶ community-dwelling older adults from local sociocultural centers in ۲۰۲۱. They purposively recruited and randomly allocated to control (n = ۶۳) and intervention (n = ۶۳) groups. The intervention group received FCEM-based self-care education in six ۱.۵-hour weekly sessions. The education focused on the physical, psychoemotional, social, and spiritual aspects of self-care and was based on the ۴ steps of FCEM: perceived threat, problem-solving, educational participation, and evaluation. Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (Katz ADL Index) and Zest Life Satisfaction Index were respectively used for independence and satisfaction assessments before and ۸ weeks after the study intervention. The data were analyzed using SPSS version ۱۶ and through the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney U, Wilcoxon, and chi-square tests.
Results: The mean age was ۶۷.۵۷ ± ۴.۶۲ years in the intervention group and ۶۷.۰۸ ± ۴.۶۲ years in the control group. There were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups respecting the pretest mean scores of life satisfaction (۱۶.۵۴ ± ۴.۴۶ vs ۱۶.۶۸ ± ۴.۲۳; P = ۰.۹۶۳) and functional independence (۴.۷۸ ± ۱.۱۵ vs ۵.۱۱ ± ۱.۰۰; P = ۰.۱۰۷). The posttest mean score of functional independence was also insignificant (۵.۵۲ ± ۰.۶۹۲ vs ۵.۲۴ ± ۰.۹۱۱; P = ۰.۹۲) between the ۲ groups. However, the Mann-Whitney U test showed that the posttest mean score of life satisfaction was significantly greater in the intervention group than in the control group (۱۸.۹۵ ± ۴.۳۶ vs ۱۶.۱۳ ± ۴.۴۱; P = ۰.۰۰۱).
Conclusion: FCEM-based self-care education effectively improves life satisfaction among community-dwelling older adults.