Stress and coping strategies among elderly living in old age home of devghatdham and in community of bharatpur metropolitan city

Abstract

Background: Ageing involves bio-psycho-social alterations contributing to stress in the elderly population. Stress produces negative effect on physical and mental health which overall affects the quality of life. Proper coping is needed to adapt and manage the stress.

Objective: This study aimed to identify and compare the level of stress and coping strategies among elderly people between old age home and community.

Research method: A descriptive-comparative cross-sectional study design was applied. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 200 elderly people from old-age homes and community (i.e., 100 from each group). Data was collected using structured interview schedule questionnaire. Analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics with SPSS version 20.

Results: Findings showed that mean stress score was more over similar in both of the groups (i.e., 17.51 in old-age home and 18.01 in community). In fact, majority of the elderly had moderate to severe stress in both groups. Religious coping was mostly used by elderly to cope with stress in both groups. There was a significant negative correlation of stress with emotion as well as problem focused coping strategies.

Conclusion: The findings concluded that stress is a major health concern which seems to be more pronounced in geriatric population irrespective of place of residence and effective coping strategies can help the elderly manage the stress. Therefore, efforts should be made to prevent the known stressors and provide specialized care so that they remain active members of our society.