@2024 Afarand., IRAN

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ISSN: 2383-2150    Journal of Education and Community Health 2019;6(4):247-255

Background
Aging is an important period of life, and attention to the issues and needs of this period is socially important because they can eclipse the quality of life of the elderly.
Previous Studies
... [1-3]. Today, with an increase in the life expectancy index, a more important issue is how to live a life or "quality of life", which has been addressed by scholars and researchers in studies on elderly [4]. Quality of life is an essential indicator which should be considered due to covering many aspects, such as physiological, functional and existential aspects [5]. The quality of life has expressed as the perception of each person of his health status and satisfaction with it [6]. … [7-12].
Aim(s)
The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between quality of life and the use of smart cell phones in the elderly.
Research type
This research was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study.
Research society, place and time
This research was conducted on 408 elderly people who were covered by the retirement center of Yazd in 2019.
Sampling method and number
According to the sample size formula, standard deviation of 18 and error of 1.5, the required sample size was determined 554 people and finally the data obtained from 408 subjects were recorded [13].
Used devices&materials
Data gathering tools included demographic and contextual questionnaire, cell phones status and if the samples had a mobile phone, they were asked about the length and reason of using. Also, the WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire was used to measure quality of life. Data were analyzed by SPSS 18 software. Normal distribution of data was first evaluated by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and data had no normal distribution, therefore, Spearman correlation coefficient was used to examine the correlation between variables and Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare the components of quality of life according to demographic variables.
Findings by Text
Of 554 distributed questionnaires among the elderly, 408 questionnaires (73.6%) were fully completed and collected. The mean age of the elderly was 67.82 ± 6.49 years with a minimum age of 60 and a maximum of 95 years. 368 participants (90.2%) used mobile phones. Based on the obtained mean scores in different dimensions of quality of life, the highest score was related to overall general health dimension and the lowest score was found in environmental health (Table 1). There was a significant inverse correlation between age and all components of quality of life, except for social health. There was also a direct and significant correlation between the components of quality of life, so that by an increase in the scores of each component of quality of life, scores of other components also increased (Table 2).There was a significant relationship between all components of quality of life, except for gender and social health. All components of quality of life, except for mental health and environmental health were significantly associated with having mobile. Regarding the type of home, only the overall quality of life showed a significant relationship, and no significant relationship was found with other components. In all cases, the mean score of quality of life was higher in men, people with mobile phones, and those with owning a home (Table 3).There were also significant differences in all components of quality of life according to marital status, level of education, income, and people living with. The components of physical, mental and general health in terms of the reason for using mobile phone and the components of physical, mental, social and general health in terms of duration of mobile phone use were significantly different (Table 4).The mean score of physical, social and environmental health in divorced persons was higher than other groups and the mean score of mental health and general health was higher in married people. The mean score of mental health, social, environmental and general health was higher in PhD students than others and the mean score of physical health in undergraduates and masters was higher than others. The average score of all components of quality of life was higher in people with an income of over two million and those who had used mobile for more than 3 years. The average score of physical, social and general health was higher in those who used mobile phone to raise awareness and the average score of mental and the environment health was higher in people who used mobile phone to raise awareness and for entertainment and communication. The mean score of physical and environmental health was higher in those who lived with single children after the death of their spouse and the average mental health and general health score of those living with their spouse and married child at home were higher than others. Also, the average social health score of those living with spouse and single child was higher than others. In general, the mean score of all components of quality of life in people living alone or without a spouse was lower than others.
Main comparison to the similar studies
... [13-19]. In the present study, a significant statistical relationship was found between marital status and all dimensions of quality of life, which is in line with the results of Tavassoli et al. [20] and Jadidi et al. [24], whereas it is not consistent with the results of Taheri et al. [24]. … [24-42]. Also, in the present study, physical, social, and environmental health of divorced people, and mental health and overall quality of life of married people were higher than others. In the study by Panaghi et al. [43], being a widow had a negative relationship with physical health, which is in contrast to the present study and married women had a higher quality of life. A study by Ahangari et al. showed that single elderly who never married had a higher score in physical health [30]. … [44-46].
Suggestions
It is recommended to use a smart phone for training the elderly.
Limitations
One of the limitations of the present study was the lack of relevant scientific studies in Iran, which reduced the possibility of more comprehensive comparisons.
Conclusions
There was a direct relationship between the quality of life and using cell phone, duration and context of its use that this interaction can be through the use of cell phones to raise awareness, communicate or entertain, or build more social relationships with family, relatives and peers.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Dr. Ihrampoosh, the head of the Faculty of Health of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Dr. Morovvati, the head of the Health Research Center for Elderly, the head of the Yazd Retirement Center, and also all elderly participated in the study.
Conflict of interest
None.
Ethical Permissions
This study (research ID: 4382)was extracted from a research approved by the Elderly Health Research Center and the Ethics Committee of School of Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd (IR.SSU.SPH.REC.1396.123).
Funding Sources
This study was funded by the Elderly Health Research Center of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd.

TABLES and CHARTS

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