Education and Training Improve Quality of Life and Decrease Depression Score in Elderly Population

Abstract

The elderly population in Bali have increased in recent years, influenced by the
improvement of health and nutrition. On one hand, still very few programs exist to help
the elderly live independently. On the other hand, there is a decreasing trend in the quality
of life and an increasing trend in depression score. Aim: To understand the effect of
education and training on quality of life and score of depression in the elderly population.
Method: Elderly individuals were divided into three groups with 22 members, 32
members, and 38 members respectively. One group was in the University is an urban
group, one group was in Kuta Utara (suburban) and one rural group was in Munggu
village. All groups received education from Dhyana Pura University lecturers with
different topics twice a week for 5 months, with physical exercise each Saturday. Before
and after the proses, depression scores (Back Depression Index) and quality of life using
the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) were measured. Result: The
result of this process is as follows: for the urban group BDI before the process was 17.14
±14.87, and after the process was 7.14 ±4.29. The rural (village) group were 11.59 and
8.19, and the suburban group was 13,44 before process and 7.87 after the process. The
quality of life scores was 20.41±2.32 and 22.50±1.50, for the physical domain, 16.45±3.10
to 19.82±2.38 for the psychological domain, 8.32±1.39 to 10.82±1.68 for social domain,
and 24.14±2.75 to28.09±3.06, for environmental domain. Conclusion: Education and
training can improve the quality of life and depression for elderly people. More
participants are needed to achieve a general conclusion.