The Effects of a SelfCare Educational Program Based on Orem’s Theory on the Quality of Life of Elderly People Residing in Nursing Homes

Background Given the growing population of elderly individuals, developing strategies for improving their quality of life seems crucial. Quality of life improvement is the essence of all healthcare activities. Quality of life has a negative relationship with age. Elderly people lose their abilities and become vulnerable and thus, need special attention and support. Objectives The present study was designed and undertaken to examine the effects of a self-care educational program based on Orem’s self-care theory on the quality of life of nursing home residents. Methods This quasi-experimental study was performed on 50 elderly individuals, who resided in nursing homes located in Urmia, Iran. The participants were conveniently selected and randomly allocated to the control and the experimental group, 25 to each group. For the elderly people in the experimental group, a self-care educational program was implemented with four to six, 30- to 45-minute sessions. Educational contents were developed based on the participants’ educational needs. Quality of life assessment was performed before and one month after the intervention using the world health organization quality of life questionnaire. The data were analyzed by employing the SPSS (v. 16.0) software and independent-sample t, Chi-square, Wilcoxon, and Mann-Whitney U tests Results The Mann-Whitney U test showed a significant difference between the groups regarding the posttest values of quality of life total score and the scores of the physical and the psychological health domains of quality of life (P = 0.001). In other words, the implemented self-care educational program significantly improved the participants’ quality of life. Conclusions Implementing the self-care educational program was effective for improving elderly people’s quality of life. Such programs can be used as effective strategies to improve nursing home residents’ quality of life. Given the progressive nature of age-related problems, using self-care models is of grave importance.